The Eschaton
by SpookOrSpectre
Summary: Collaboration with Erwin Rommel98! A secretive cult begins a terror campaign, attempting to bring about mass hysteria in zootopia to further their evil goals. It's Nick and Judy's job to stop them, but they are not to be underestimated. Time is of the essence... It's about to come to an end.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello again! This story is a collaboration with Erwin Rommel98. We are alternating writing chapters, and editing each other's work, so you should see some influence from each of our writing styles in every chapter. This chapter was written by Erwin and is meant to lay some of the groundwork for the story. Next chapter focuses on our favorite duo!**

 **This story is going to be very horror-esque, as it was originally going to be a quick Halloween special, but we decided that it should be its own full story.**

 **Anyways, enjoy!**

 **...**

It was December 1619, and it was a very, very cold winter. In Easton, a small town four hundred miles north of where Zootopia stands today, a polar bear was getting ready to go to bed. He had just finished stoking the fire and adding more wood, trying to avoid hypothermia. He had been eating less than usual recently, the unusually cold winter having caused a minor famine.

His name was Haines, and he was a solitary creature. He lived in a largish one-room shack just outside his small town of Easton. His backyard was thick forest, still uncut by the loggers who passed this way in the summer to head further north. His front yard was a little more open but was still shrouded by trees. Folks usually had a hard time finding his place, even though it was only a ten or so minute walk from the town square.

He had finished his supper not even an hour ago, yet he was already hungry. He got into bed and laid there, curled up under the covers. He was hoping that sleep would come and take away the hunger for a while, but sleep would not come. Haines sat and listened as the rumblings of his stomach bemoaned the small meal he had eaten. It felt like someone had put a pointy stick in his stomach, and he turned every which way, trying to appease the sharp pain. But in Haines' mind, it wasn't the amount of food he was eating that caused this, it was the type of food. He was sure of it. He was lacking _proper_ food.

Haines was a mighty polar bear. He should be dining on meat every night, not on hard wheat biscuits and ersatz tea, as he did most every night. Granted, he should also be hibernating, but some things had changed. Not, however, his appetite. He needed red meat. He was destined for it.

Just as he was about to drift off to sleep, he was brought back to his senses by a scratching at the door to his shack.

 _Scritch, scritch, scratch_

over and over again.

 _Scritch, scritch, scratch_

At first, he thought he was imagining it, but it was persistent. Haines grew worried. There was only one way to find out who was at his door.

Grudgingly, he got out of his warm bed and walked over to the fireplace to grab a long iron poker. _Best be armed just in case,_ he thought. Cautiously, he approached the door. The scratching continued. Slowly he reached out and unlocked it, grasping at the latch and counting to five. At five he yanked the door open and yelled.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?"

But there was nothing there. Just darkness and cold wind that promised snow.

So, he had been imagining it. Haines quickly closed the door, shutting out the cold that caused his fire to nearly die. He turned around and, without thinking, lashed out with the poker at a tall, gangly creature covered in red scales who was standing just in front of him. The creature gave a high pitched mocking laugh, and in the time it took for the poker to follow through with its swing, it had popped up on the other side of the room, out of his reach.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" Haines roared, walking to the creature, still holding the poker. He was ready to knock its ugly, pointed head right off. He stopped a few feet away from it, and the creature laughed again.

"Hah! As if I had a name… foolish mortal," the creature said in a dark, raspy voice. "No name can encompass what I am."

"Well if you aren't telling me who you are, then tell me what the hell you want," Haines said, more irritated that the privacy of his home had been invaded than he was angry or frightened.

"Let's start off with a story, shall we?" it responded deviously. That was not the answer Haines had been expecting. A story? This thing waltzes into his home in the middle of the night after pulling him from his warm bed just so it could tell him a story?

"This had better be a good story," said Haines. "Or I'll see to it that you never tell any more!"

"So feisty… Just my type of mammal. This story is about a stag named Christopher. Christopher lived hundreds of years ago, and for a while, he was king of Fallworth. You know of Fallworth, don't you?"

"I've heard this story! save me some time here and-"

"Ah ah ah! You most certainly did not hear this side of the story. Now as I was saying, Fallworth, as you know, was quite powerful. It, however, did not gain its wealth through conventional means. You see, long ago there were 5 dragons. Each wished to be great and powerful. The best way to do so at the time was to be a king, however, our dragons had some limitations.

"Not one of our dragons could build, nor did they have any sort of followable personality. So, since they couldn't found their own cities to build wealth, they used their power to create a sort of tax. The cities in the region would pay them in gold and jewels, in exchange for not being utterly destroyed," the creature continued, walking around the room, poking about Haines' possessions.

Haines was about to tell the creature to stop meddling with his property but was cut off just as he drew in a breath.

"Ah ah ah, Haines. No more interruptions. Now, where was I? Ah yes, our dear Christopher. Christopher was the king of Fallworth. Before its rise to power, Fallworth used to be a small town, so small that it did not have to pay tribute but once every five years. Christopher, though, wanted more. He wanted to be the largest and richest city-state of the land. I could feel his desire for riches and power, so, I decided to stop by one day.

"I gave him an offer. I would grant King Christopher power over the dragons. But there was a price, you could say. In order for Christopher to maintain power over the dragons, he had to make blood sacrifices to me. One hundred mammals per year was the quota, and thankfully for me, he had no trouble slaying innocent mammals for his own desires. He really was something…" The creature said, drifting off, remembering what a specimen Christopher was. Haines cleared his throat.

"Oh, yes! Anyways, Christopher agreed, and over five years, he had collected the payments from other cities that were supposed to be going to the dragons. Fallworth became the most powerful city-state on the continent, not only in terms of wealth and population, but military might as well. Christopher loved calling on the dragons in battle... I never regretted the decision to give him dragons, he put them to good use… They were so powerful. Such sources of destruction and pain...

"I digress. The point is, due to his wealth, he became extremely prideful. So much so that, one year, he decided to not pay me, as the killing of 100 mammals in ritual sacrifice was apparently too time-consuming. He would rather spend his time doing various, foolish mortal things apparently," the creature said, rolling his eyes.

"So, since he decided not to pay me, the dragons were free. Now, poor Christopher had not treated the dragons all that well, and on top of that, he had completely robbed them of all their riches. And I think you know how a dragon will guard its hoard... you understand how mad it will get when someone tries to steal it...

"Needless to say, when Christopher came out of his castle and into the large courtyard to call upon the dragons, he found them already there, waiting for him. And he was roasted. Literally. The dragons systematically destroyed Fallworth, until it was nothing more than piles of stone in vaguely building like shapes. Nothing flammable survived.

"Then, the dragons took all their riches back and they lived happily ever after, The End… Now, the ending of that story is, well, less than satisfactory, wouldn't you say?" The creature said, pausing in wait of a response.

"Sounds like the guy got what he deserved to me…" Haines said, a pained expression shooting across the beasts face.

"Oh, Haines! Oh dear, dearest Haines. Don't you see? Christopher could have had it all! But he threw it away…" The creature said. Haines still wasn't getting it.

"Alright, well, that was a nice story, too bad, Chris died, now would you let me get some sleep?" Haines said, still irritated by the creature. He didn't care if it was some kind of god or devil, it was irritating, that's what it was.

"How could you invite a guest into your home just to ask them to leave! You are hard to read."

"Really, I invited you? And how is that?" Haines asked, feigning perplexity.

"I think you know how." the creature replied with venom, finally growing irritated with the polar bear. He walked over to the fireplace and picked up an ash trowel.

"You want to eat red meat, correct?" he asked, giving the fire a poke with the shovel, causing sparks to shoot up into the chimney. The creature's scales shimmered in the heat, moving with the flow of the hot air, absorbing its energy.

"Yes. I do, I'm sick of bread, and fish, and crickets, and all of the other nonsense we're forced to eat," Haines said. The creature continued to poke the fire and make his scales glow.

"Why is it that we predators have to make accommodations for the prey?!" Haines continued, starting to pace back and forth.

"Weren't we once on top of the food chain? Now what are we? Equal? Why equal?" he shouted the last words at the wall, spittal flying. The creature simply stayed by the fire, seemingly taking in its energy.

"But now you're here!" Haines said after a short pause, whipping around and pointing the poker at the creature. Now the demon had to play his cards right. While he could influence people's emotions, he still couldn't control someone, not with this little energy at least. He knew that the longer he let Haines rant, the more likely he would be to accept his proposition.

"Yes, I'm glad you can see that," he said sarcastically. "I'm here to make a proposition."

"A proposition?"

"Yes, you know, a deal, a..."

"I know what it is!" Haines said angrily, stepping closer and waving the poker.

"Ah, well, in that case, hear me out," the creature said, putting the shovel back on the rack beside the hearth.

"I will grant you the ability to eat prey mammals…"

"I already can!" Haines interrupted.

"Will you let me finish? You impatient oaf. And put down that poker will you? It's getting annoying having you wave it around all the time. It's like you're trying to conduct an insubordinate orchestra..."

Haines looked at him incredulously, but slowly lowered the poker, walking over to the dining table and sitting down.

The creature watched him quietly, then picked the shovel back up and poked the fire again, his scales shimmering just as before. He then went over to the half depleted woodpile, picking up another split log and placing it on the fire. He put the shovel back down and stared into the flames.

The creature continued. "I was going to say the ability to eat prey mammals without any sort of repercussions... Now, I don't quite have the power to make it so that nobody will notice that mammals are going missing, but I can make it where they will never suspect you. Or anyone who wishes to follow in your footsteps."

Haines thought for a moment. He knew, or at least he thought he knew, that this individual was some kind of god. He knew that this wouldn't make his life any easier, but nothing worth getting was easy to get.

"I have to admit, I'm interested… in turn for what though?" Haines asked. The creature continued looking into the fire.

"Well, you see, the very nature of what you desire is payment enough for me… It's a symbiotic relationship. You do things that benefit me, and I do things that benefit you. Unlike our friend Christopher, your payment will be that which I grant you the means to carry out. So, if you continue doing what you're doing, I get stronger and therefore so do you. And if you wish to stop, you simply stop and nobody will be any the wiser… So, what do you say?" He said, waiting on Haines' response. Haines paused again, weighing his decision. It was a fairly easy one.

"As long as you are true to your word, we have a deal."

"Wonderful. The next time you feel the urge to eat red meat, don't worry about giving in-" he said, pausing to pull a small book out from behind his back. _Where did that come from?_ Haines thought "-These are some instructions, so to speak" the creature continued. "You will find procedures with which you can summon me, or others where you simply ask for something and give me power in exchange. This is not the complete list, there are some rituals that I will not give you as I don't think you are ready yet.

"And one more thing; you will come across others, others who wish for the same thing as you do. Befriend them, and if they too can consume, I will deliver."

Before Haines could say another word, the creature walked straight through his closed front door, and was gone. A few seconds later there was a knock at the door.

 _Is this creature really going to be like this?_ Haines thought as he opened the door. Yet again, he didn't see anyone at first, but a sniffle told him to look down. Standing there was a young rabbit doe, trembling from the cold. She was wrapped in a heavy shawl and had a neat little hat on.

"I'm sorry mister," She said nervously. "I'm not from here, I'm looking for some family's house. Could you tell me where Brook street is?" She said, sniffling. Haines knew this was a sign.

"Why, you look terribly cold. Come inside, warm up a bit. Brook Street is quite a ways away," he said, his demeanor betraying his intentions. The rabbit smiled hesitantly, but the warmth that flowed out of the door was so inviting that, despite her better judgment, she stepped across the threshold.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: The foundation of this chapter was written by me, with plenty of edits and suggestions from Erwin. Here we have Nick and Judy modern day, dealing with some frustrating and unusual occurrences. Sorry if it was off-putting to have a chapter without the two first, but it was necessary for the storyline. Enjoy!**

Nick and Judy sat, frustrated, in their cruiser, pulled over to the side of the road. Judy slowly banged her head against the steering wheel, while Nick dialed the ZPDs garage. The cruiser had broken down in the middle of the street, and it had been a very long day. They were very ready to be done and go home. Nick hit the last digit with a sigh and put the phone up to his ear.

"Yeah hey, it's Officer Wilde, our cruiser broke down on 30th Avenue, between Mirage and Palm… Wow, only 5 minutes? Great, we'll wait here… nah, don't worry we'll just take the subway back to the precinct… alright, take care, bye."

Judy lifted her head from the steering wheel, looking at Nick.

"Five minutes huh?"

"Yeah. It's no big deal fluff, we'll make it home on time. Unless we have to arrest someone on the subway," Nick said with a chuckle. She groaned at the thought. Nick leaned over, wrapping his arm around her and bringing her close.

"Alright, you stop it with the negativity miss, I will not tolerate it," he said teasingly. She smiled.

"Don't tell me what to do," she said, garnering a quick laugh from Nick. They cuddled for what seemed like only a few seconds before there was a knock on their window, a gray wolf in a mechanics uniform staring at the two quizzically. They frantically separated and Judy rolled down the window.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting you two…" He said, chuckling. Judy's ears were turning red.

"Oh! No! Don't worry about it, I was just having a bad day and..." She started, flustered.

"Ha! That's alright, I get it. I was young and in love one too," he said with a smile. Judy smiled back, relieved. The two got out of their cruiser and the wolf got to work getting it onto his tow truck. They stood, watching as he connected the winch to their car, pulling it onto the truck bed. They waited for a bit, watching their car slowly lift. The wolf turned around and furrowed his brow.

"You two don't have to stick around if you don't want. I know you two probably want to get home, it being the end of your shift and all," he said. Nick and Judy looked at each other, nick shrugging. Normally Judy would be having a bit of a moral dilemma, but not today.

"Great, thank you!" She said as she took Nick's paw and led him to the subway station. ' _Well, she is not wanting to delay sitting on the couch,'_ Nick thought as he was practically dragged alongside her.

They made it to a subway entrance and took the steps down into the station. It was incredibly busy, given that it was just after five o'clock, with mammals elbow to elbow. They weaseled their badges out for the scanner, and It allowed them through. They walked out onto the platform and only had to wait a few minutes for the next train.

A rush of air signaled its approach and seconds later it appeared from the dark tunnel, coming to a stop at the platform. Nick and Judy huddled together to let the rush of mammals getting off go through, and they stepped off the platform onto the train. After a few seconds the doors closed, and It started forward with a hiss of air, settling into the familiar electric hum. They didn't get seats, but only a few other mammals were standing with them.

Out of habit, they did a quick scan of the car, searching for anyone who looked like they might be up to no good. Immediately a Canadian lynx caught their attention. She was wearing black sweatpants and a black sweatshirt. The combination of dark clothing and dark grey fur made her stand out, an island of darkness in the colorful subway car. Her eyes were a terrifying cobalt blue, like diamonds in the night.

Her appearance wasn't what had caught their attention though, it was the fact that those deep blue eyes were staring straight at them in a strange, expressionless glare. Nick and Judy watched her intently, and they didn't have to wait long for something to happen. She slowly stood up, losing her balance slightly as the train rocked, but she kept her gaze on the two. Her lips were moving, but even Judy couldn't hear what she was saying.

The two lowered their paws over their tranquilizers. The mammals around her took notice but decided to ignore her, figuring it was just another lunatic. She was whispering something now, and Judy could tell that it clearly wasn't in English. Her chanting grew in intensity until she was nearly shouting, and she had the full attention of everyone on board. The mammals around her started moving away, and the two officers drew their tranq guns.

"Mam, please stop talking and sit back down, or we will arrest you," Nick said calmly. He knew how this would go down, a crazy lady on the subway causes a ruckus, police take her away, life goes on.

Judy was thinking the same thing until the lynx reached into her sweatshirt pocket. Her paw returned to view with a small plastic device, wires running back to her hoodie. The mammals around her immediately started running to the other end of the car, leaving the officers in the middle of the car. This was definitely not what the two expected to come of their subway ride.

"Put the detonator down!" Judy yelled. The lynx continued chanting, and Nick could tell it was Latin. The two were shaking, almost certain this was the end. Their tranqs didn't knock mammals out fast enough to stop her from pressing that button.

"Let go of the detonator!"

"You don't have to do this!"

"Id est hostiam pro Ipso, proque nobis!" The lynx shouted back.

"Let go of the bomb!" Judy screamed, nearly in tears. She felt resigned to this rather stupid fate, the victim of a suicide attack by a lunatic. The lynx started bringing her thumb dowb on the button.

"No!" Nick shouted.

"I'm sorry..." The lynx said with a wicked grin. the two fired their tranq guns, a last-ditch effort in a losing battle. The lynx yelled in pain, clutching her wrist. Judy had shot her in the chest, but Nick had taken a chance and went for the detonator. His dart had pierced her middle digit, shattering the detanator and lodging itself in her paw pad. The officers rushed over, slamming her to the ground and bringing her paws behind her back to cuff her.

She grunted and stifled a scream as Nick pulled the dart out of her paw. He struggled for a moment before ripping it out of her without a care for how much it hurt. Judy grabbed her injured paw and cuffed it to the other, and the situation was under control. Their would-be martyr was laying on the floor of the subway, quietly drifting into unconsciousness.

Nick and Judy took a moment to hug each other, tears running down their cheeks. A few moments ago they were certain that they were about to die. The other mammals on the train started clapping and cheering for the two. After a few moments, some of them started shuffling out of the cluster, taking things into their own hands. Some went to Nick and Judy, thanking and consoling them, others pulling out their phones and calling various emergency services.

Someone had pulled the emergency stop lever amidst the chaos, so Judy used the intercom to tell the conductor what happened. After a few minutes, the train started moving again. It crawled to its next stop, moving slowly as was standard procedure when the entirety of the Zootopian subway system was shut down. The various calls to different safety and security agencies had set in motion a large effort to clear every public transport In the city. When the train reached the station, there were mammals in uniform everywhere.

Police, fire, and paramedics were everywhere. Mammals in suits, likely intelligence and security agents, were scattered about. But the most striking was the military mammals who looked like they were ready for war, with plate carriers packed with gear and machine guns slung around their necks. It was quite a sight to behold. The two officers slowly stepped off the train, dragging their unconscious terrorist with them.

Within seconds, two military personnel in bomb suits gently took the lynx from them and got to work removing the bomb. They didn't have time to think before two mammals in black suits briskly walked up to them and started asking questions. They were answering the questions to the best of their abilities, but there were just too many, and they simply didn't know much at the moment. To their relief, a familiar voice boomed from behind the two agents before it's owner pushed his way in front of the two.

"William Bogo, Chief of police," he said, flashing a badge, "I'd hate to be rude, but they will have answers after we can Interrogate the suspect. After that, we'll hand her over to you. Please step aside while I talk to my officers," he said, politely but quite intensely. The two didn't want to mess with Bogo, and they stepped out of the way. The Chief spoke again.

"So, what happened? What do you two know?" He asked, Judy responding.

"Well, our cruiser broke down and we decided to take the subway back to the station. We got on a train and we immediately noticed her. She just stood out from the crowd, and she was staring right at us. Before we knew it she was chanting in some strange language and she had a detonator in her paw. We thought we were about to be blown to smithereens, but Nick shot the detonator and we were able to suppress her," she said. He smiled.

"Very good work you two. Now, how in the world did almost every safety, security, intelligence, and military agency get notified so quickly?"

"Must have been the other mammals on the train. After we detained her we were pretty much in shock and didn't do a whole lot. Everyone else on the car took matters into their own paws," she said. Bogo harrumphed.

"Well, I need to deal with all of this. Damn feds make things much more complicated… You two head back to the station. Delgato and Fangmeyer will take you and the terrorist. Interrogate her, see what you can learn," he said. The two saluted and then went their separate ways, Bogo trying to form some sort of order. Nick and Judy found the lynx with paramedics. A raccoon medic who was scribbling on a clipboard stepped over to speak with them.

"Are you two the officers who detained her?"

"Yep. How bad is her paw?" Nick said with a hint of sympathy.

"Well, the middle finger on her right paw has some strange joint damage, she's probably going to need surgery at some point. Otherwise, she seems fine. I don't think she'll need more advanced medical care immediately but you'll need to get her to a doctor at some point for that finger," she said. The two thanked her for the report and walked up to the lynx. She was awake now, staring at the ground as they grabbed her under her arms and started walked her to the stairs.

They made it to the surface and found Delgato and Fangmeyer, who took the three to their cruiser. Nick and Judy got in the back and put the lynx between them. Delgato started the car and began driving back to the precinct. They were silent for what seemed like forever before the lynx spoke up.

"This is a mess…" She said quietly, a smile on her face. Delgato let out a short chuckle.

"You don't say?" He said. Fangmeyer agreed.

"Yeah, you made a real mess lady. At least you're the only one that got hurt," He said.

"This will all be over soon. Everything will be meaningless. He will rise," she replied. They were all taken aback by this strange statement. Nick figured they could get some info here.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked. She looked him right in the eyes, her deep blue glare sending a chill down his spine.

"The Order will summon the final carnation of The One and he will have dominion over the earth. Et oriri. Et qui comedunt carnem et regnabit Dominus," she said with absolute conviction, staring him straight in the eyes. Now he was seriously regretting sitting next to her. Delgato understood a bit of what she said but Judy asked a question before he could speak up.

"Who is The Order?" She asked, not bothering to ask who The One is, figuring it was just some fanatical religious nonsense.

"I have said enough," she responded, turning to Judy. The two stared at each other, Judy quickly losing her steely resolve under the lynx' oppressive gaze. She looked Judy up and down and sniffed the air slightly, like a predator surveying its prey. Judy felt an intense, instinctual fear wash over her, and the lynx could tell. She smiled at her discomfort and Judy inched away, pressing herself against the door of the cruiser. The lynx bared her fangs at her and hissed. This was the last straw for Judy. She spun her body, bringing her legs up onto the seat to powerfully kick the lynx in the face. She fell, unconscious, into Nick's lap.

"What the hell happened back there?" Delgato asked, forgetting about what he wanted to say. Fangmeyer turned in his seat, staring at the two with a concerned look.

"She was going to bite me!" Judy said.

"Yeah, with a hiss like that I don't blame you," Nick said. Now that she was unconscious the rest of the ride went smoothly. When they got to the station Fangmeyer carried her in and put her in a temporary holding cell with a male raccoon. Nick and Judy waited until the lynx had been booked before starting off down the wide hallway to the lobby. Before they made it halfway there they were stopped by Delgato.

"Hey, guys," he said as he walked up to them. "Believe it or not, I was able to understand a little bit of what that cat said in Latin, I think I know who did this. She said something about 'The Order' right?" He asked. The two officers nodded. Delgato had gotten their full attention.

"Ok, I think she's part of a cult called The Order of Nature. I worked with Detective Oates when he was investigating them, I heard those phrases all the time. They're a group of predators who believe they should still be eating prey, they worship some kind of deity. We don't really know much about them, they're extremely secretive and it's hard to find anything concrete, but Oates might be able to help," he said. Judy was shocked by what she had just heard and started drifting off, worrying about what they were getting into.

"Well, we'll go call him right now, see if he can give us any leads. Thanks 'Gato!" Nick said with renewed enthusiasm, gesturing for Judy to follow him to their office. She was staring off into space, not really paying attention.

"Hey, Fluff, wake up," he said, patting her shoulder. She stirred back to focus and nodded, following Nick to their office. They made it back and sat down in their respective chairs. Nick scooted his chair over to Judy's side and gave her a concerned look. He could tell that she was stressed out.

"What's the matter Carrots?" He said. She sighed.

"I don't know Nick...I guess, for me, the whole idea of a cult that worships carnivorism is just… God awful. Probably my worst nightmare if I'm being honest with you," she said, turning to look him in the eyes. Nick developed a sorrowful frown. He knew she was inherently fearful of predators, and hated being reminded of the fact. He turned back to her and scooped her up onto his lap, holding her close. She smiled as he embraced her, her fear melting away.

"Don't worry Fluff. This isn't gonna be any different from any other case. We'll get these guys and it'll be the end of their little show. The hardest part now is translating whatever Oates says for me," he said. She smiled and nodded, so he set her back down on her chair. She moved the phone between them and dialed Oates' number, putting it on speakerphone. He picked up after a few rings, his voice coming through the low-quality phone speaker.

 _You've reached Detective Oates,"_ he said plainly.

"Hey, it's Hopps and Wilde, we've got a few questions for you," Judy said.

 _Oh! Well hello! Nice to hear from you two again. I heard about your work stopping that bombing. Y'all did a damn fine job. What can I do for you?"_ He said, excited to be working with his favorite rookies again. Nick and Judy then proceeded to explain their encounter with the terrorist and what Delgato told them.

 _"Oh yeah, I remember that group, 'The Order of Nature'... Delgato and I worked on those cases for a long time. We never got anything definitive, but I tell you that group is real and they go way back. I suppose it's possible that they're the culprits but I can't figure what they would want to do with terrorism,"_ he said.

"Can you tell us more about them or where we might be able to find them?" Judy asked. Oats shuffled around some papers for a moment before speaking again.

 _Well, you can't take a shot in the dark and expect it to hit, but I've got a pretty good idea of where one of their hideouts is at. There's an old bar, the Turquoise Palm, the address is 4013 30th avenue. I think it might have something above or below it, I don't know which. All I know is that I've seen suspicious predators go in there and disappear for hours,"_ he said. The two officers looked at each other, puzzled.

"Isn't that between Mirage and Palm street?" They said simultaneously. Oates was taken aback for a moment.

 _Yeah… what's that got to do with it?"_

"Our car broke down right outside of it… That's why we were on the subway. Ha! what are the odds of that!" Judy said. The two smiled at the coincidence. Then Oates said something that turned Judy's smile upside down.

 _"I_ _don't know if I should tell you this, since it's mostly conjecture, but I know they perform a lot of rituals, magic rituals. Real satanic witchcraft like stuff. Now, I don't want to sound crazy, but I've seen some things that make me think it's not all hocus-pocus…"_ He said, genuine fear in his voice. Nick looked at Judy, hoping for an explanation.

"Wait, you don't think they made our car break down somehow, do you?" Judy asked, not really believing what she was hearing. Nick had no clue where she got that from but went with it.

" _I don't know Hopps. I know it seems ridiculous, but they have been around a long, long time, and they've never been caught. I have seen, with my own eyes, evidence disappear into thin air. I don't know what else they might be capable of."_

"Hold on, are you saying that they actually use magic?" Nick asked, starting to catch on, in equal disbelief.

 _Look I know it's hard to believe but I have seen it myself. I can't tell you how many times evidence mysteriously disappeared on me when I was working on those cases. Everything from fur disappearing when I turned my back to it, to evidence vanishing from storage. I know I sound like I'm not playing with a full deck but you gotta believe me,"_ he said, starting to sound desperate. He doubted whether he should have said anything. The two looked at each other, not sure what to believe. Nick decided to proceed with the questions.

"Do you have anything else on them?" He asked.

 _Well, I'd be careful pursuing them. I've heard they have their roots in the government of Zootopia. I never had any interference from higher up so maybe their influence died out but I don't know, just be wary."_

"Well that's no good, we'll watch out for that. Thanks for all the info Oates, I think we're gonna call it a day here," Judy said.

" _No problem officers, any time. Stay safe out there."_

"We'll try our best. You take care too now… bye!" Judy said before she hung up. She looked at Nick and sighed, shaking her head. He didn't really need to know what in particular she was complaining about, as he had a pretty good general idea, and he agreed. Without talking they got out of their chairs and started heading to the lobby. They stopped by Clawhauser to chat.

They arrived at his desk and instead of talking, they started watching the news with him. They were discussing the state of the city, and It wasn't quite chaos, but people were very unhappy. Between those who had their commute interrupted and those who were simply horrified by the idea of terrorism, everyone was at least a little pissed off.

"I'm sure this will all clear up soon," Ben said, nervous. "You guys got any ideas on who organized this?"

"Yeah, we got a pretty good lead from Delgato, we think it's an old cult, but nobody has a clue what their motives are. We think we know where one of their hideouts is but we'll do more tomorrow, we've had a long day," Judy said.

"Hey, that's great! How about you tell me where you think this hideout is so I can brief the Chief when he gets back?" Ben said with a little more energy. He'd always loved these two for their ability to get things done.

"It's in a building with a bar, the Turquoise Palm, on 30th Avenue. Oates isn't certain but he has pretty good reason to believe there's something there," she said. Ben jotted down the information and looked back up.

"Coolio! I'll get that to him when he gets back. Now, you two had a long day, get some rest for crying out loud!" He said. The two smiled at him and said goodbye. They walked out of the precinct and were about to go to the subway to head home when they realized it was still shut down.

 _That damn lynx,_ they both thought. They looked at each other and shrugged, both figuring a good walk couldn't hurt. They went slowly, taking their time to enjoy the relative peace and quiet in what was normally a very busy area. Everyone was staying inside, in fear of another attack, but these two knew that it was unlikely. Their stress from the day melted away as they walked the quiet streets, enjoying each others company.

The sun was setting, and it covered the buildings in a reddish-orange glow. The brightest stars began shining through the remaining evening light, barely visible. Judy snuggled up against Nick as they walked. The rare car that occasionally passed served to annoy the two, interrupting their tranquility, but every driver they saw made up for it by waving. The news of them stopping the bombing had already spread and upped their semi-celebrity status.

After what felt like only a couple of minutes they reached their home. They didn't say much as they fixed themselves supper. Nick made a fried fish sandwich, Judy a salad with blueberries, then they went to the couch to watch a little tv. They ate their meals in relative silence, listening to the characters on the screen, only speaking to make fun of each other's eating habits. Nick was always messy, and Judy had a habit of chewing with her mouth open.

When they had finished eating and washed their plates they got ready for bed. Their standard procedures went by in a flash, and the next thing they knew they were laying in bed snuggled up in the comfort of each others warmth, the long day quickly forgotten. They didn't even worry about what tomorrow would bring.


	3. Chapter 3

Max Hammershime shivered and pulled his coat tightly about him in the freezing wind. His tail stuck out into the bitter cold, but there wasn't much he could do about it. It always got bad cramps when he tried to keep it under his coat. He would have to do something about that one day. It was December, nearly Christmas, 1624 and it was absolutely frigid outside. Thankfully, there wasn't any new snow yet, and the old snow had been pushed aside or trampled enough to make walking easy.

Max was on a mission. He had to deliver a document to the headmaster's house before daybreak. That gave him less than an hour. He had traveled from Easton, about 20 miles away, where the Patriarch was. He didn't live there. He lived in this town, but Max was a designated messenger, so he regularly traveled between the two with notes and knickknacks from Headmaster Lewis and the Patriarch.

At this rate, he would have to hurry. He didn't know what was on the document, but the wolf who had given it to him had said it was urgent, and that Headmaster Lewis needed to see them as soon as possible. Max realized he had been staring at the ground as he walked, so he looked up to get his bearings.

 _"What Luck!"_ he thought.

The headmaster's house was just at the end of the street, only a hundred or so yards left to go. Max trudged on. Very few mammals were out at this time, just before the dawn. Only the coal sellers with their steam-powered carts were out, quickly and efficiently delivering coal to the basements of houses and shops, to be burned for warmth throughout the day. They would be done before daylight. Max always like watching those large, noisy carts. He found it amazing how steam could be harnessed in such a way as to make a cart move on its own. Now he only had fifty yards left to go.

Menton wasn't a big place, it was only six roughly parallel streets, three on either side of the river connected by seemingly random and poorly thought out connecting streets, along with three more streets on the peninsula. The rivers that flowed through the town were crossed by a total of four bridges. Menton was built at the confluence of two rivers, the Marsla forming the left fork as you went upriver, and the Lend forming the right. The river they merged into was given the un-original name of the Combine.

All three were heavily traveled in the summer, mainly by loggers coming from further north, but also gold miners, fishermen, and coal miners taking their goods to the coastal towns. However, the cold winter left a sheet of ice easily two feet thick that kept all boats from being able to use them. Max knew that if it wasn't for the deadly winters here that Menton would probably be much, much bigger.

The cold did have its pros though. For one, the stench the city had in the summer was practically gone, and not just because everything froze before it had time to start smelling. There were simply fewer mammals out. The population usually dropped by about a quarter in the winter.

Max reached the headmaster's house. It was an unremarkable wooden structure painted a dull blackish/brown, almost exactly like all the other ones in the town. Attached to the wall beside the white framed door was a lit oil lamp. Max wondered what pour soul had to come out and refill that when it needed it.

He gave the door three long knocks, followed by one short knock. The signal that there was a mammal of the Order there, and not some random city mammal. A few seconds later an arctic fox opened the door.

"Are you the messenger?" he asked gruffly.

"Yes, and I have something for Headmaster Lewis."

The fox stepped aside and motioned for him to come in. Max stepped into the sparsely furnished room. He had been in it numerous other times, yet the dreariness of it never ceased to amaze him. It was even dreary with a fire burning merrily in the grate on the other side of the small room.

"He's been waiting for you," said the white fox, sheathing a short sword he had been holding. Max noticed there was also a matchlock pistol on the table. Top of the line security.

"Is he in his usual chamber?" Max asked.

"Yes."

Max nodded and stepped fully into the room. The fox closed the door, finally letting the warmth from the fire reach him. Max knew the fox was a guard. As far as Max knew, he only ever left the door to use the restroom. He even ate his meals at a small table set up beside it. That was dedication.

The headmaster would be on the second floor, in a room that took up half the floor. The stairs were in nestled along the left wall. The bottom floor had six rooms, all rather small, including the kitchen. The room he was in now was in the middle of the building, with the kitchen just behind it. On either side were rooms that didn't have a specific purpose, except for the pantry. None of the rooms were connected, except through the middle room and the kitchen. Max would have to go through the kitchen to get to the room with the stairs.

Max crossed the foyer and opened a door on the other side and continued into the kitchen. It was a very simple kitchen, with a brick oven on the back wall, and a table in the middle. Herbs hung from the ceiling, and a large cast iron pot sat on the floor next to the fireplace. This was the second least dreary room in the building. Headmaster Lewis's chamber took first place, but not by much.

The room that contained the staircase had absolutely no furnishings except for a single lit oil lamp beside the door. The stairs were very narrow, barely more than a foot wide, and they creaked something fierce.

 _"No way anyone would ever sneak up on him,"_ Max thought.

The stairs led to a hallway that ran along the entire length of the back wall and gave access to the headmaster's chamber and the guard's room. The headmaster had four guards, only two of which were on duty at any given time. Standing next to the closed door of Lewis's room was the second on-duty guard, a jet-black wolf. At his side was a short sword exactly like the foxes, along with another matchlock pistol, this one tucked into his belt.

The wolf recognized Max, so he knew he wasn't a threat. Still, he drew his sword and asked him what he was doing there.

"I've come to deliver this document to the headmaster. I believe it is very important." Said Max.

"Even so, I must follow you into his room. One never knows if one is being tricky or not until it is too late." The wolf said in a voice as rough as sandpaper. Max nodded. He knew the procedures. No one could be alone with the headmaster except his mistress. The same went for the patriarch.

The wolf opened the thick wooden door, which groaned prodigiously on its hinges.

 _"One more defense against people sneaking up on him,"_ Max again.

Inside, the room was very warm, much warmer than the hallway, uncomfortably warm even, thanks to it having its own fireplace. The first thing Max always noticed when coming in here was the bed. It was a large four post bed, complete with a canopy over the top. Sometimes there would be a female of whatever predator species the headmaster fancied at the time lying in it. Today, it was empty.

"Master Lewis, the messenger has arrived." Said the wolf.

At first, Max couldn't find the headmaster. Then he noticed that the large, padded leather chair that the headmaster favored was turned away from the entrance, allowing him to look out of the frost covered windows.

"Wonderful."

Max heard the soft voice. For a second nothing happened, then Max heard a quiet scraping sound and saw the chair begin to turn around. The chair unceremoniously completed its turn, and the headmaster sat back down. This time facing them from behind his desk.

Max remembered the first time he had ever seen the headmaster. It was during the summer, so the room had been much brighter, and not quite as stiflingly hot as it was now. The headmaster was not like any other mammal he had seen. He was tall and skinny, with a very long tail with a tuft at the end, a long muzzle, and tall pointy ears. His bottom half had large black stripes, width-wise across his back, and down his legs. His top half and arms were simply brown. But that wasn't the weirdest thing. Max had seen him yawn and was blown away with how wide he could open his mouth. It was as if he unhinged his lower jaw. It almost made a 90-degree angle to his upper jaw.

Max had asked other members of the Order where he had come from, and after a lot of "I don't know's," he had finally been told from a place called "Tasman's Land." Max had never heard of it before. Either way, the headmaster seemed to fit the role perfectly. It took almost a year before everyone got used to an outsider taking over after the old headmaster died of a supposed stroke. That was five years ago, not long after the founding of the order.

"I see you brought what I have been waiting for," said Lewis in his strangely soft voice.

"Yes, straight from the Patriarch himself," answered Max. No one knew what the hulking polar bear's real name was.

"Good, good. Let me see this scroll now," he said holding out a long thin arm.

"Yes sir," Max said, giving a little bow as he handed over the rolled and sealed scroll.

Lewis quickly broke the seal. He unrolled the scroll but was careful to keep what was on it hidden from view.

"Excellent..." He murmured, just barely above a whisper. "Max!" He then exclaimed, making Max jump. "Do you want to know what is on this scroll?" Lewis Asked.

"Uhh… I Suppose so sir, if you see fit to tell me."

"Well, I see fit. On this scroll is the location of the city we have been planning on founding. Its been the goal of this society for a long time now."

"Really!" Max blurted. It had been rumored for the last few years that the society had been getting nowhere. All the meetings and ritual dinners were well and good, but some were beginning to get impatient.

"When will we be free to live as nature intended?" they asked.

"Have patience." The headmaster would say. "When the patriarch finds us a place, it will be the perfect place. Just be patient."

Max had heard about the 'Order of Nature' from a friend while in a bar one night years ago.

"The society is small and still new," his friend had told him "But we need our own city. After all, it is so very difficult to keep these kidnappings secret. Even if they are mostly homeless mammals or travelers. Once we have our own settlement, predators from near and far will come, and we won't have to worry so much."

Max learned that night about a society so secret, that the only evidence it even existed was the absence of the mammals it consumed. And that was hard to trace.

"You see," his friend said "We predators have been neglected our true food source for far too long. It is time we fix that little problem. Hence the 'Order of Nature'."

"And how is the Order going to fix this?" Max had asked.

"Ah, that is the tricky part, yes? The Order's goal is to found its own settlement, a city, and wage war on the prey, without them really knowing it."

The city, Max had learned, was supposed to look like any other city when traveled through or visited, but it was to have a sinister secret. The prey that lived there were only there as a food source for the predators, without their knowledge. The problem would be hiding the kidnappings, just like here. The big difference, however, was that they wouldn't need to be hidden from the government, just the populace, especially the prey population. That shouldn't be too hard if they did it right.

Over the course of five years, and many meetings and dinners, Max learned more about this proposed city. To keep things looking normal, the government would have elected officials. However, it would be rigged in such a way as to allow only a predator loyal to the cause to be elected.

To attract more settlers, they needed to find a spot that could suit most all mammals. A place on a river, near good farmland, with room to spread, and a good climate. This would be difficult, Max knew, but he didn't think it would take them five years to find. Although, that might have been on purpose, to let the Order grow to enough mammals to be able to start a settlement.

"Where is it?" he asked Lewis.

"400 miles to the south."

"400 miles?!"

"You sound surprised Mister Hammershime. Do you think that going only a few dozen miles would be enough? If it makes you feel any better, it's along the Composite, but much closer to the sea obviously. It will make a good waypoint for travelers to rest."

Max looked down at his hind paws and watched a bug crawl across the floor.

"Once this infernal winter is over, then we will leave." Lewis continued more to himself than to Max. "The only thing we need is food. We have been stocking up on transport and other supplies for a while now, so we are good there." He started pacing.

"We have enough members now, over two hundred spread between our two towns." He stopped pacing and looked at Max. "To be honest, I'm surprised the disappearances haven't been noticed."

"Maybe that's why they finally came up with a spot," said Max. "It was getting to hard to hide them."

"It's possible." murmured Lewis. "But the patriarch always says that we should have no fear of being caught... that He will deliver us... I've never understood what he means, and I very much so want to..."

...

That day had been the turning point in history for the Order. A few days later the yearly banquet for the eating of prey was called. All the members from each city met in the hidden spot out in the woods.

"Brothers and sisters of the Order!" a polar bear draped in heavy robes made of moose hide, who called himself the Patriarch, boomed from his place at the head of the tables. "Today is a wondrous day, for we have finally found ourselves a place to go."

A hushed murmur went through the crowd. The excitement that usually accompanied these feasts grew tangibly.

"We have found a place to start our own city! And we will begin our preparations forthwith! So as to be ready to leave when the last of the snows have melted."

All at once, 237 predators of all kinds stood up at their tables, clapping and hooting and making a generally loud noise. The Patriarch smiled as he sat back down. His massive moose hide coat spilling out on both sides of the chair like a giant blanket. After a few seconds everyone else followed suit.

"Now!" he said from the chair. "Let us eat!"

Another roar of approval came from those at the tables, and seconds later the sounds of eating filled the air, dozens of slaughtered and cooked mammals being consumed.

...

The year is 1899. Two hundred and eighty years after the founding of a city called Zootopia. A city that started out as being a haven for predators. A haven where they could eat prey without having to face the consequences of the law. A place that was able to fool those very prey into a false sense of safety living alongside predators, only to be harvested like grain. But times had changed. Predators no longer controlled everything like they used to. Including the police force. This forced them into hiding their deeds much more carefully, as well as cutting back on the number of killings.

"Mr. Mathews, come in!" John Parson, an antelope, called from his office. Mr. Mathews opened the wood and frosted glass door and stepped inside, carefully closing it behind him.

"You wanted to see me sir?" the lanky zebra said.

"Yes. Take a seat will you?" Parson gestured at one of the two chairs in front of his desk. Mathews sat. Years of being a detective told him to stay quiet and let Parsons get to what he wanted to say on his own time. If it was something important, you didn't want to rush it. If it wasn't important, well, then it didn't need rushing. Plus, the more you observed, the more you could learn.

"I'm pulling you off the missing mammals case."

"What!" said Matthews, standing up. This was not what he had been expecting, and it hit him like a fastball to left field. "Why?"

"There' just no evidence," Parson said leaning back in his chair and fiddling with his fountain pen. "It's a drain on our resources, and it has barely gone anywhere in the last two years. I'm surprised I've let it go this long."

The case he was referring to was the going missing of prey mammals over the last 20 or so years. Every year, about 45 to 50 prey mammals of all kinds, but for some reason, mostly rabbits, would just disappear. No one had really noticed either until Parson became head of the department in 68 and went through the Put-away-for-lack-of-evidence case files and noticed the massive amount of missing mammals. It was a small amount overall for a city of well over a hundred thousand, but only prey mammals were missing, so something was up.

Mathews didn't respond. Truth be told, Parson was right. There was no evidence. None. It was uncanny. And to be honest, he was becoming tired with the case. Two years with no real leads was tiring and annoying. Parson took Mathews silence as an opportunity to keep talking.

"We'll just put any new cases we get in specially marked boxes. Maybe one day in the future when technology is better, they'll give it another look and have better than luck than us."

Mathews nodded.

"So do you have something else lined up for me then?" he asked.

"Was just about to get to that Mathews," said Parson. "Fake money has been a huge issue lately, and there've been rumors that one of the counterfeiting gangs has its base in the east side. You are officially on that case now. Find out if the rumors are true, and if they are, figure out where it is and shut it down. You know the drill."

"Yes sir!" said Matthews. Finally, a real case, with something to do. He stood up. "Will that be all sir?"

"Yes. report back when you know if its real and not just paranoia."

"You got it, sir." He said, opening the door and stepping out into the hall.

...

The year is 2018, and in the spacious basement of St. Wolfherd's cathedral, a meeting of well over 400 predators was taking place.

"Zootopia has strayed from its original purpose!" a tall cheetah said from a podium at the front of the room. The low flat stone ceiling made his voice sound a bit muffled. "As you know, it was founded for us. For predators. But it has been taken over! The prey - our food of all things!- has been allowed too much influence. And it has shown. Even predators have become complacent!" he pounded his fist on the wooden podium top.

The room was dark, except for the dimly shining bare bulbs spaced every five or six feet on the wall, but most of the mammals there didn't need much light. They were made for seeing in the dark. They were all gathered here for a "state of the union" type of meeting. There was only one thing on the agenda: addressing their loss of power in the city that they founded.

"We have not been in control of the police in over a hundred years now!" the cheetah continued.

The audience let out a collective growl. Everyone there was a diehard. The ones whose families had been in the Order going back generations. All of them worked hard to bring about the goals of the Order, but it was not enough.

"We all know what would happen if the prey keep gaining influence." the speaker continued after the crowd had quieted down. "We nearly got to experience it last year, when the cursed sheep Bellwether tried to cause an uprising against us. And what did we do? We stood around like stunned cattle. Too scared to go out and do anything about it. We were lucky Nicholas Wilde was there, even if he had help from a rabbit." he said those last words with obvious malice.

"But it is not enough!"

This brought forth more growling, along with the smattering of applause. Applause was not the favored way of showing agreement amongst those of the Order. Long-standing tradition dictated that it was to be growling. However, the passing of time was beginning to end that as well.

"I have received word from Patriarch Lewis himself that it is time to end this long experiment gone wrong and He, the one who helped our original Patriarch found the Order, gave us a way to do that!"

More growling from the crowd, louder this time. However, another sound also came out of the crowd.

"Where is Patriarch Lewis?" a voice called out from the middle of the crowd.

Haendle, for that was the name of the cheetah, had been expecting that question. In fact, he was surprised it hadn't been asked earlier.

"He is meeting with the ones who have been selected to start the beginning of the end," he said. He had been looking forward to saying that. Something about saying 'To start the beginning of the end' sounded so good. Yet, it left him feeling a little off.

"So its started then?!" another voice called from the crowd.

"Yes!" before he could continue another voice called out;

"And what is our part in this!?" this question brought forth a lot of agreeing murmurs.

"I was just about to get to that," said Haendle. "Our job is to raise havoc! The One feeds off of pain and suffering. It makes Him stronger."

The One was the supernatural being who had visited the first Patriarch so long ago, and who had given him the ability to found the Order. He had never given a name, and the members of the order figured he had none because he was the Lord himself.

"We are to go out and cause as much destruction, and pain and suffering as we can. He will be with us, driving plagues and storms upon Zootopia. Soon, Patriarch Lewis will begin the final ritual to summon the One and to bring about the downfall of Zootopia, and the world!"

And with that, the crowd let out a tremendous noise of growling and clapping. Everyone was ready to follow Patriarch Lewis to the ends of the earth if need be. This, their final assignment in life, would be carried out with the gusto of those who think that they are righting a huge wrong. It was time for the Eschaton. The end of the old and the ushering in of something new. Haendle stepped off of the podium to speak to a mammal who was awaiting his orders.

"Is Sister Sapphira ready?"

"Yes, sir."

"Excellent, begin the ritual to cast the spell. They should be passing by our hideout when it is done."

"Very good sir, it will be done."

...

Nick and Judy were on their way to the station after a long day's police work. Judy hadn't been enjoying the job as much as she used to recently, and it was getting her down. She was just waiting for something else to go wrong.

"So you heard about that new singer, Catrina?" Nick asked out of the blue.

"Huh?" Judy responded, caught off guard and not fully comprehending what he had said.

"The new singer Catrina, had a concert last night for like twenty thousand mammals?"

"Oh! Yeah, I heard she was pretty good."

"Yeah."

There was an awkward pause. Judy drove while Nick sat, the two taking for granted the machine that was allowing them to travel to the precinct. Suddenly Judy's ears went up, and she had a questioning look on her face. Nick listened carefully and barely heard a noise coming from somewhere.

"Is that the car?" He asked.

"Yeah, I think it is…" Judy said, giving the dashboard a once-over. Then the car made a sputtering noise, and the engine went out completely. Judy pulled the car over with its remaining momentum, and steam rose from beneath the hood. The car was now stuck on the side of the road. Nick sighed and Judy started banging her head against the steering wheel.

...

The day after the rally of predators in St. Wolfherds cathedral, another meeting was going on between four other predators, and one prey, in a dark room of the sub-basement of the cathedral.

In the middle of the small group stood Patriarch Lewis. To his left stood a wolf and a lion. To his right, a brown bear, and on the floor in front of him was a tied up rabbit.

The room was lit only by the dim glow of candles, too many to count, and in its center was a cross ringed with a bloody circle. This cross is what they had gathered around.

"Shall we begin father?" The wolf asked Lewis. The rabbit on the floor squirmed, struggling to get away. The bear grabbed him and held him firmly.

"Yes my child, we are ready to bring about the new age," Lewis said. The brown bear untied the rabbit, and the other two helped pin him to the cross. Literally.

The rabbit yelled and sobbed as the three held him to the cross and drove nails through his limbs into the wood. The three finished their gruesome task and stepped away. The rabbit stopped struggling, resigning to his fate.

"You'll all burn in hell for this!" He said through gritted teeth, choking on his words as he held back tears.

"Do not struggle my son. You will pass to the next world easier if you don't," Patriarch Lewis said. The rabbit was sobbing quietly at this point. Lewis picked up an ornate knife from the small, velvet-covered podium that stood before him.

"O domine, ego do vobis sanguine," He said as he held the knife in his paws, his eyes closed and head tilted up.

"No! Oh god, please, no!" The rabbit sobbed. The patriarch looked down and opened his eyes, gripping the knife. Without warning, he plunged the blade into the rabbit's chest. The blade was very large compared to the rabbit, and he was dead instantly, his blood showering the floor.

"Ego rogabo pro te ut pluvia redire ad civitatem hanc.

Monstrare rex quis est verum."

And with those words, every candle in the room extinguished, and the cathedral shook with the sound of thunder.

...

 **A/N: Another great chapter from Erwin here, edited by the both of us. Hope you all enjoyed it.**

 **The idea is that the founding of Zootopia was perceived as more the first symbolic peace between predator and prey. We figure that mammals have been living together for a while, but now we have a city being founded on the premise of unification, or at least it seems that way on the surface**

 **I will be writing the next chapter, and let me tell you, it is going to be quite the roller coaster!**

 **Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry this chapter took a while to get out. Sadly, Erwin Rommel is pulling out of the collab. He's been super busy and just doesn't have the energy to keep up with two stories and real life. That said, it was great working with him, and he really contributed a lot to this story. It certainly wouldn't be what it is without him, so here's a big thank you to Erwin.**

 **This story will be finished though! In** **fact, this chapter is where things get interesting!**

 **Enjoy!**

...

Judy stirred awake. The radio alarm was playing some strange high pitched wailing, with jarring drums and the sound of rainfall and thunder. She drifted off for a second but a louder crack of thunder from the radio brought her back. It was quickly followed by a heavy thrash metal riff and galloping guitar.

"Uhhh… turn it off…" She mumbled.

"Hold on this is a good song…" Nick replied, slightly less mumbly than her.

Now the guitarist was absolutely shredding and it was a terrible wake-up call for Judy. The pounding drums and ringing symbols were drilling into her head. Then the singer came in, yelling the lyrics.

" _Trapped in purgatory!_ "

"Nick!" she groaned. Now he was singing along.

"A lifeless object alive!" he half yelled. She rolled over and started slowly smacking him with her pillow. He laughed as the song continued.

" _Awaiting reprisal!_

 _Death will be their acquittance!"_

Judy climbed over Nick and shut the radio off mid-verse.

" _Sky is turning red-!"_

"You dumb fox," she said with an irritated smile.

"Come on carrots, Slayer is the breakfast of the champions," he said to her. She shook her head and he grabbed her, pulling her over to give her a kiss.

"We're both awake now though, right?" He said. She rolled her eyes and scoffed, though she couldn't hide her smile. As irritating as he was, he was right. She hopped off the bed, still smiling, and walked into the other room to make breakfast, turning on the news while she cooked. Nick slowly sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed.

" _Oh no… Nick come see this!"_ She shouted. Nick immediately got out of bed and walked into the other room. He came through the doorway to see Judy standing in front of the TV, her arms crossed and a stunned look on her face. On the news was a report about a large string of murders overnight. The snow leopard anchor was speaking.

" _Authorities are still not sure how many mammals have been killed, or who is responsible, but so far 41 mammals have been found dead. On the phone here we have Chester Bolt, our crime scene reporter. Chester what have you seen so far?"_

" _Well Fabienne, you know how it is, the police are not letting me onto the crime scenes, but from what I have seen, and going by my experience, these appear to be ritual killings of some kind."_

" _So you think a cult did this?"_

" _I'd say that's definitely possible Fabienne. I can't Imagine that these killings were carried out by only a single mammal or even just a small group of mammals."_

It didn't take Nick and Judy very long to make the connection. They thought that the lynx from yesterday was just some crazed rogue member of an obscure cult, but now it was becoming clear that this group was not to be underestimated. They finished making their breakfast and could hardly eat it, thinking about what would happen next if they didn't stop this group. After a while of anxious preparing, they left their apartment.

The early morning light lit the city just like the evening light the day before, but it had a more eerie air about it. It was only 6:30, and darkness had not fully left the city. It wasn't unusual for them to walk in the dark, but typically the idea that it was the morning was clear due to the fact that they were still a little groggy. But being a police officer and seeing a report that dozens of mammals were murdered overnight wakes you up quick.

The creepiness of what seemed more like a sunset was compounded by the worries clouding their minds. They wondered if the murders were still going on as they walked. Maybe 41 was only a fraction of the real total. Maybe they would find a victim in some horrible mutilated state. Maybe they would be victims themselves.

That idea had them walking slightly faster. As fearless as they tried to be, the situation had them on edge. They could only imagine what that reporter had seen. Images of skinned bodies hung up by their legs from case reports of other ritual killings flashed through their minds. For Judy, the image of the lynx baring her fangs and hissing at her was still fresh in her memory.

They made it to the precinct and Clawhauser greeted them with a big smile when they walked in, taking an edge off of their anxiety. They went up to his desk and Judy hopped up onto it, taking a seat with her legs dangling off the edge

"How's it going?" She said with a sigh.

"Not bad. How's your two's mornin' going?"

"Not too bad, but we're not happy about those murders," Nick said as he leaned up against the desk.

"Gosh, me neither! I think last I saw there were fifty-four of them! So horrible!" He said, a paw over his chest. Judy was shocked by the new number.

"When we saw the news this morning they had only found forty-one!" She said.

"Yeah! I don't know if they're still happening or if they just haven't found them all yet, but either way, it's bad. Word's going around that they look like ritual killings. Do you guys think the same group from the bombing did this?"

"Yeah, that's what we were thinking," Judy said.

"Ugh! So creepy. Hopefully that hideout Oates gave us turns out to be the real deal and we can shut them down. Chief wants to raid it today with TUSK teams,"

"I like that idea," Judy said, ready to get her paws dirty and lock up some maniacs. Nick gave his classic smile, equally ready to get to work.

"You two are so over the top!"

"Well, we like our jobs, don't we Judy?"

"We sure do," Judy said. Ben smiled at the two and looked at the time.

"Well, it looks like it's time for you guys to head to briefing. Good luck out there! Kick some butt for me!... and stay safe!"

"We will! And don't you worry about it, Ben! Cya later!" Judy said, hopping off the desk. Nick gave a small wave as he walked away. They started walking to the briefing room, noticing that there was a lot of activity near the precincts gym. They got to the briefing room and took their shared seat, starting to chat. The cacophony of officers made it hard for them to hear each other.

"So, you ready to lock up some of those creeps Slick?"

"Sure am fluff. Can't wait to get thrown across the room by a tiger," Nick said sarcastically. As good a fighter he was, he wasn't as flexible and agile as Judy was, and therefore wasn't slippery enough to escape larger opponents.

"Oh stop it. I'm sure ther'll be smaller mammals. You can deal with them pretty quickly," Judy said coyly, making Nick smirk. He could deal with smaller mammals indeed, being the well-trained officer of the law he was. They were interrupted by Higgins shouting, quickly followed by Bogo bursting through the door, nearly flinging it off of its hinges. He looked pretty upset, and when he got to the podium that fact became quite clear.

"EVERYBODY SHUT UP!" He screamed. The room became dead silent. He huffed before speaking again.

"We have a cult going around causing panic throughout the city. They tried to bomb our subways yesterday and last night they killed over one hundred mammals," he said with seething despise. The room filled with whispers. Nobody had heard a triple fidget figure and it shocked everyone, not to mention the fact that the Chief had just confirmed the rumors that this was the doing of a cult.

"This sort of terrorism not be tolerated. We have information on a potential hideout of theirs and we, along with TUSK teams, will be raiding it for information and to apprehend members. The gym will serve as our staging area. You are to report there in 15 minutes. Hopps, Wilde, I need to speak with you. Everyone else is Dismissed," he said, looking down at the podium to rearrange files.

He wasn't really looking at the files, he just needed something to fume over while everyone left. The two got out of their chair and walked up to him while the room cleared. They had no clue why he needed to speak with them, and it made them a little nervous. Once the last officer left and the door had shut he started speaking.

"So you two aren't going to like this... when I spoke with Oates about the hideout location, and I told him of the plan to raid it, he told me not to send you two. He said that this cult may have something specifically against you two and that they may try something if you were there.

"Now, I understand that you probably want to get straight into the action, but Oates made it very clear that he did not feel comfortable with you two taking part. I will admit his reasoning was odd, but I trust his judgment. I don't think Oates is to be taken a fool," He said. They were, needless to say, a little upset.

"But Sir, danger is a part of our job. We need to do something, we can't just sit back while all this happens!" Judy argued.

"I understand Hopps. Yes, danger is part of your job, but not unnecessary danger. I'm not willing to put anyone's lives at risk if I don't have to," Bogo said, firm but understanding. He had a point, and it was clear that whatever Oates was nervous about was serious.

"Could you tell us what Oates was so worried about?" She asked.

"I'm not sure if I really understood completely. You know Oates, he speaks in tongues, but what I got out of it was that the cult is very fanatical and won't let anything get in the way of what they believe. You two stand very much against that... the thing is, I couldn't tell if he was using 'magic' and 'curses' as simply metaphors or if he actually meant witchcraft of some kind. He's an odd one that Oates, a very smart, very hard to understand odd one," Bogo said. The two were a little dumbfounded, but before they could discuss it further the chief spoke up again.

"I need to go get things in order for the raid, I'll be busy for an hour or so but afterward I'll still be in the precinct. You two can do research, see what there is to know about this group, and let me know anything you find," He said. They saluted him and stood while he left the room. Once the door closed they both sighed.

"We're gonna need a vacation after all of this," Nick said. Judy let out a short laugh.

"That's for sure," she said, the stress of the last few days becoming quite apparent to her.

"Want to head back to the office and see what we can dig up?" Nick offered.

"Might as well," Judy replied, heading over to the door and opening it for Nick. Their office was on the second floor, and after a quick flight of stairs, they made it to their workstations. They sat down at their desks, scouring the internet for any information they could gather regarding the group. They searched endlessly, finding very little concrete information. Most of what they found was on borderline goofy conspiracy sites. At best they seemed to have simply strung together random bits of information into what resembled a sensible story, but Judy was noticing a pattern.

"Nick, are you also seeing a lot of stuff about the original founder being murdered by his subordinate, a Tasmanian tiger? We only have fossil record of those, they didn't have time to evolve..."

"Yeah. I'm also seeing a lot of talk about that same former subordinate being the cult leader to this day… which means they would have to be over 300 years old."

"So I guess we just have an immortal tiger here? I mean, it explains why this guy is still around…" Judy said, mostly jokingly. Nick looked back to his computer and let out a hmm as he clicked on a link.

"Judy look at this, it's apparently a transcript of an interview with the Tasmanian tiger. It was carried out by a member of the order who was also an anthropologist…" He said as he scanned over the text. He pointed at the response to the same question they were asking; where did the leader come from if Tasmanian tigers died off hundreds or even thousands of years ago? Judy read the response.

"There are few of us alive today, we simply don't like to be seen. I was a dissident, I broke the traditions by leaving. We try to conceal ourselves as our ancestors did. Being hard to spot makes hunting easier. Living in the shadows is the only way to survive," She read aloud.

"This guy sounds like he knows a thing or two about being concealed. That lends itself pretty well to a secret cult, but there's no explanation as to why he's still alive other than nonsensical magic and supernatural gibberish. I mean, there's no way Oates is right, that this group has the ability to harness the supernatural, right?" Nick said. The thought haunted Judy, but before they could delve more into it they were interrupted by a strange groaning coming from the holding cells. They looked at each other as it increased in intensity. It sounded like a female to Nick, but he couldn't pinpoint it. Judy knew exactly who it was though.

"Nick, that's the Lynx!"

"The one from yesterday?"

"Yeah!" She said, pushing herself away from the desk and getting up to walk to the holding cells. As they walked the cries of pain increased in intensity, and the two started quickening their pace. The noise got louder as they walked and others were starting to take notice. They were nearly at the holding cells when they were stopped in their tracks by an absolutely blood-curdling scream. It didn't last long though, as it was quickly cut off by a thump and a horrific splash.

" _Oh God! Oh Jesus Christ!"_ They heard the guard officer yell, followed by mumblings of the other inmates. They sprinted to the holding area, and when they rounded the corner they found a nightmare come to life. Part of the hallway was completely covered in blood and organs, with bits of indiscernible red goop hanging from the lights. Clumps of fur with the skin still attached were scattered about, projected onto a wall which was easily 20 feet from the cell. Scattered on the floor were bones and fragments of bones, with what appeared to be a rib lodged in the opposite wall.

Judy covered her eyes and looked away, while Nick turned to the wall to lean up against it and hold back vomit. There was more yelling as the few officers still in the precinct looked on, and Bogo heard all the commotion.

"What the hell is going on over there!" He yelled as he approached. Judy tried to stop him from rounding the corner.

"Chief you don't want to look, it's bad," she said, holding out her paws to dissuade him.

"It's my precinct, I should know-... Oh christ Hopps, I should have listened to you…" He said as he faced away from the mess. Then a mammal started yelling from one of the holding cells.

"Guys! Guys! Oh God, someone, get me outta here!" The mammal screamed, beginning to sob. Nick stayed where he was while Bogo and Judy went to the cell to get the lynx' poor cellmate out. Judy could feel the fluids soaking into her hind paws, and Bogo slid across the blood-slicked floor, barely stopping himself from falling into the mess of lynx parts. The smell was almost unbearable, not an awful smell in itself, but horrible in what it represented. Judy looked into the cell to see absolute horror.

The cell was plastered with lynx parts, far more than one mammal should ever see. The head of the lynx, with the lower jaw missing, was embedded into the ceiling upside down, pinned in by her fangs. Even dead, those sapphire blue eyes still pierced Judy's very soul.

The other mammal in the cell, a raccoon, had half of his body completely covered in blood and bits of organs, with a few pieces of bone, presumably not his, sticking out of his arms and side. He was whimpering and had a look of complete and utter desperation on his face.

"Guard, get over here right now!" Judy yelled. Bogo was silent, in shock. The guard took his keyring off and threw it to Judy. She caught it, giving an angry glare to the lazy guard. She started nervously rifling through the keys, fumbling as she found the right one. The adrenaline and fear made the task of getting a key into a lock quite difficult. The cellmate was sobbing, standing there with his paws held out in front of him.

She finally got the lock open and guided him out of the cell. Bogo told her to take him to the locker rooms for a shower and she started leading him off. The rest of the mammals on the scene were looking on in horror while the chief awkwardly tried to get out of the pool of blood, slipping and sliding precariously as he did so.

"Are those fragments lodged in you very deep?" Judy asked the raccoon as they made their way to the locker rooms. He was still in shock.

"W-What?"

She pointed out one of the bone fragments lodged in his arm.

"Oh god… Oh my god... Wow… Umm… No, I- I think I'm physically ok but, I'm struggling to hold it together officer... I was only in there for tax evasion, I don't deserve this…"

"It's alright sir, you'll be ok. We'll get you cleaned up and have you taken to a hospital ASAP."

"I need a therapist..." He said.

"That makes two of us," Judy agreed. Suddenly she heard paw steps behind them and nearly panicked before realizing it was just Nick. He jogged to them in an effort to catch up, and put a paw on the raccoon's shoulder.

"I'll take you into the male's locker room once we get there," He said.

"Ok… Thank you two so much," the raccoon replied, glad that he was finally getting some sympathy from the police.

They arrived at the locker rooms and Judy waited outside while Nick helped the raccoon deal with the bone fragments and let him take a shower. Nick found a first aid kit in the locker room and treatedcthe wounds as best he could. After about 20 minutes they walked back out, a few bandages on the raccoon.

"None of the fragments were in very deep luckily," Nick said to Judy as the two stepped out.

"Yeah, I'm lucky for sure. Did you guys see her rib sticking out of the wall?" The raccoon said.

"Yeah, I'm surprised you're ok. How were you in the cell with her and not blown up with her?" Judy said.

"Well I don't want to sound crazy but it wasn't like she had explosives... it was like she just flew apart," The raccoon said, confused and terrified. Nick furrowed his brow.

"Yeah, come to think of it I didn't smell any smoke or anything. What about you Judy?"

"Yeah I didn't smell anything and it really didn't sound like an explosion either. What happened before she started groaning?"

"She did say something, it sounded like a romance language to me. Something about pain or like torment, and giving maybe? I'm not sure... I speak Spanish but it sounded like it was only loosely related to Spanish…"

"Was it Latin?" Nick asked.

"It could have been, but who the hell speaks Latin?"

"She does, that's for sure. Her and her damn Latin… I wish we knew what she was saying…" Judy said. They started heading to the front desk but took a roundabout way in order to avoid the holding cells. They had seen enough of that for one day. They walked briskly and the strangeness of the whole situation was beginning to dawn on them.

When they arrived at the front desk Bogo was on Clawhauser's phone, making a call to another precinct to transfer their inmates while they investigated the incident. Even though the cells were separated by cinder block walls on either side, nobody deserved to sit in a cell with that mess just down the hall. At this point the call had turned into small talk with Precinct 4's deputy, so when the Chief noticed the three approaching he quickly ended the call. He set the phone in its receiver and turned to address the raccoon.

"Mr. Russel, I need to sincerely apologize to you for what happened in your holding cell. We should have been more careful to remove any additional explosives from her. You should not have gone through that and I am truly sorry. I am hereby releasing you on the one condition that, while you do not need to pay your debts to the MRS, you do not file any lawsuits against the precinct for what happened. Do you agree to those terms?"

"Yes Sir!" The raccoon said, glad that he was going to be able to see his family tonight.

"Good. Talk to the guard for your belongings and the release procedure and such," the Chief said, pointing to the old goat. The raccoon nodded and headed over to him. Bogo then turned his attention to the officers.

"Ok, you were some of the first on the scene. Now, I have seen a few bombs in my day, and I must say that didn't seem like a bomb to me. Did you two see any signs of explosives?"

"No sir, we were just talking about that. We didn't smell anything and it didn't sound like explosives to me," Judy said.

"I agree, there were no burn marks on any of the… pieces either. I know Oates said something to me about magic or the supernatural concerning this cult but... you two don't think this was a supernatural occurrence do you?" He asked, looking for confirmation that he was simply being paranoid about the possibility. The two officers stood in silence, unsure what to tell him.

Suddenly there was a commotion from the garage. Bogo realized that in all the chaos he had forgotten about the raid. Suddenly dozens of officers came through the doors, bringing with them quite a few arrestees. Bogo rushed over to stop them from seeing the holding cells and brief them on what happened.

"Alright everyone! stop what you're doing, and listen! We had an incident in our holding cells while the raid was happening. Because of this, we will not be able to use the holding cells here in Precinct 1. You are to take these suspects to Precinct 4 in Tundratown. I will inform them of your arrival and they will be ready for you."

This statement was met by a multitude of protests from the officers.

"Chief we can't just move these guys around on this kinda notice, we have over 20 inmates!" Said one of the officers. Many of the other officers made sounds of agreement. One officer was particularly stubborn.

"Come on chief it can't be that bad, what the hell happened?"

"Trust me officer, you wouldn't believe me if I told you, and you don't want to know anyways."

"Oh please, what could possibly be that bad?"

"Well, be my guest and see for yourself," the Chief said, gesturing for the officer to have a look. He rudely budged through the crowd and made his way to the hallway with the holding cells. He promptly fainted upon seeing the mess, and the Chief's point was proven. Bogo turned to address the other officers.

"As you can tell, it's very bad. Now, would anyone else like to see for yourself?" He asked, garnering a chorus of negatives.

"Good. Dismissed!" He said. As he was about to turn around to return to Nick and Judy, a bear officer approached him with a paw-cuffed caracal.

"Chief, this young lady absolutely needs to speak with you, it seems pretty important," the bear said in a gruff but pleading tone. Bogo was taken aback by his demeanor and immediately turned his attention to the caracal, figuring that she must have something interesting to say.

"William," she started, surprising Bogo with her use of his first name. She noticed his reaction and corrected herself. "Sorry, Chief Bogo, I'm a very new member of the order. Only a week or so. I was intrigued by it when a friend told me of it. I found it fascinating, but I did not realize that the group actually did the horrible things they spoke of. I must make up for my contributions, I must help you destroy this evil," she said. Bogo now understood why the bear was so concerned: whoever this was, they were very strange. But as strange as she was, he was willing to take anything he could get.

"Well, having an inside member would certainly help, I'll introduce you to the two officers who have the most information right now," he said, leading the caracal by the shoulder and dismissing the bear. The other officers from the raid all filed back through the door with their perps, on their way to Precinct 3. Bogo walked the caracal over to Nick and Judy, and introduced her.

"Hopps, Wilde, this is… Oh, I'm afraid I didn't get your name Ms." He said, confounded that he had forgotten to ask.

"Oh… Um, just call me Abby for now…Anyways, Judy, Nick, I recently joined the order out of sheer curiosity when my friend told me of it… I had no idea they actually committed the atrocious acts they spoke of. I must make up for my short stay with them, I must help you," she said with a strange certainty. They were confused by her demeanor, and her use of first names left Bogo confused out of his mind. Judy tried to be as formal as possible with her.

"Well, Abby, it would definitely be nice to have someone who knows the group from the inside. We will have to keep you in custody, but if you are cooperative as you say you will be, we can be more lenient with you," Judy said. She seemed very proper and Judy figured she was simply highly educated, but Nick was quite uncomfortable with her, to say the least, and he spoke up hastily.

"Well, standard procedure is to get you into an interrogation room so why don't we do that right now," he said, ushering the cuffed caracal along to the interrogation rooms. Bogo and Judy were shocked for a moment at his rudeness, but they realized that whatever Nick was picking up on was very serious. They briskly walked her to an interrogation room, and the other two winced as Nick shoved her into the room, slamming the door and locking it.

"What the hell is going on Wilde? Did you see the look on her face? She was terrified!"

"Chief, it seemed to me like she was trying to hide something. I don't know why she was putting on that act, and she was selling it too, but as good as she is I can tell there's something more going on... I think she might have a bomb," Nick said, shocking the other two.

"Oh sweet cheese and crackers… what do we do?"

"Well hold on a minute here you two… didn't we all just agree that the lynx didn't have a bomb in her cell?"

Before they could start arguing, they were interrupted by the ground shaking. It wasn't tremendous, but it left the lights swinging slightly above them. They looked at each other and immediately started running to the front desk to see what happened. Bogo feared the worst; a large underground bomb. They made it to Clawhauser, who was watching the news.

"Clawhauser did you feel that?" The Chief asked.

"Yeah, from what I could tell it was just crazy loud thunder, Chief. The sky was clear just a few minutes ago but I guess it's not staying that way," Ben said, pointing to the gloomy weather outside. The three were relieved, but confused, and thoroughly distracted from the caracal. They watched the news with Ben for a moment but they weren't saying anything about a storm or a bomb, so Judy decided to check the weather the old-fashioned way.

She walked over to the doors and stepped outside to see what was going on. It was colder than it was before, and there was thick cloud cover. It was still bright, the sun shining through the clouds, and all of the mammals that were out and about were staring up at the sky. The raccoon from earlier had just left and was walking up to her.

"Did you see what happened? Just a second ago it was perfectly clear, then there was this huge crack of thunder and clouds covered the whole sky," he said, amazed.

"That's weird... Maybe the sound of the thunder made the clouds form?" She offered, the raccoon giving a shrug in response. As they stood and thought, the clouds started darkening. Tendrils of black with crimson borders started spreading out through the clouds, branching apart like some kind of horrible tree.

"Oh my god…" Judy said. Within seconds the sky was pitch black, the only visible light being the sunlight from the distant horizon. The streetlights slowly turned on, but the sky remained black, as if the clouds were absorbing all of the light from the city. The two looked at each other for a moment, and Judy felt a drop hit her arm.

She didn't think much of it immediately, but she decided to look at the spot. Something strange was happening, as the drop had turned her gray fur a deep black rather than a slightly darker gray. She looked down to see the drops against the white concrete. It was red, deep red: it was blood. Judy had seen enough of it today to be sure of that.

The two didn't have to say anything to each other to know what to do next, and they bolted through the doors into the precinct. It started as a few drops that sent mammals darting indoors, but quickly turned into a downpour. They stood close and other officers joined them by the windows to watch the deluge of blood. Mammals in the streets ran for their life, sprinting into stores to escape the hellscape that the city was becoming.

A few mammals rushed into the precinct, covered in blood, and everyone stood around in shock. The civilians were panicking and the officers had to console them. Judy, Nick, and Bogo broke away from the crowd to discuss.

"Hopps, Wilde, this is bad," he said with a tone they had never heard from him before.

"Yeah… whoever this group is they've found something seriously powerful," Judy said. Suddenly, they were interrupted by a familiarly odd voice.

"Something seems wrong, is everything ok?" The caracal asked, free of her handcuffs and clearly not in the interrogation room. She gasped when she saw what was going on outside. Nick checked himself for his handcuff key, and so did Judy. They both had theirs, and Bogo was at a loss.

"How the hell did you get out?" Nick asked.

"That's no good…" Elizabeth quietly said to herself, referencing the events transpiring outside. She turned back to the officers to respond to Nick "Well, I should probably start by saying that my name is not 'Abby'..."


	5. Chapter 5

The Zootopian Congressional Library doubled as the cities official museum. It was a large structure, taking up a half a city block. It was situated in one of the oldest parts of Zootopia, and it was generally considered the oldest surviving building. Its monolithic stone construction immediately identified it as a government building, with huge marble clad granite pillars being its most conspicuous attribute.

Over its 300 year history, the building had been added to over and over again, and not all of those add-ons had been newly built. Other buildings had been linked to it, both wholly and, in one instance, with a sky bridge to another building across the street. Eventually the add-ons and engulfments made it look like the structural equivalent of The Thing, with the original building at one corner of the block.

However, beneath the building was the true architectural Frankenstein. Rumor had it that beneath there were hundreds of tunnels, rooms for rituals and sacrifices, hideouts, and storage for illegal goods. But if you were to look at a map of these tunnels, you would notice something peculiar. Of the many layers of tunnels, the third one down stood out. Rather than being laid out like a grid, as the other 'floors' were, it was a ring.

It was this blank spot in the middle of the third layer that had drawn the attention of Elizabeth Felis, a caracal who had recently joined a group whose very existence was unknown to the world at large; The Order of Nature. Now she stood in front of the libraries' towering stone columns, a map of the tunnels in paw, her long slit coat flowing in the light breeze.

At this very moment, the Order was plotting the beginning of a ritual that would bring about the end of not only the massive city of Zootopia, but the world. Elizabeth hurried up the wide flight of granite stairs that led to the double metal doors that served as an entrance into the library. One of the doors was held open by a bolt in the stone. Just past it was another set of double doors. These, however, were modern glass and stainless steel doors, and both were closed. She pushed the right one open and walked into the reception area.

It was a simple space, about the size of a tennis court, with a very nice marble and wood reception desk in the middle and walls that went all the way to a vaulted ceiling 40 feet above. A female armadillo wearing a plain blue dress and a gold necklace was sitting behind the desk. She looked to be in her 60s and was using a pair of wire-rimmed reading glasses to help her work on a crossword puzzle. The opening of the door caused her to look up and put the paper and pencil down. This part of the museum/library didn't get much traffic since they opened the new entrance on 20th street.

The area the old armadillo was guarding lead back to the old archives room and a host of other rooms used to store items not so readily available to the public. The room also served as a center for storage of old exhibits and millions of other odds and ends that hadn't made it into any collection. Many artifacts were taken from their origins and passed up for display by something that was deemed more interesting.

"May I help you?" The armadillo said as Elizabeth hurried up to the desk.

"Yes, I'm looking to get access to the archives," she said as she pulled a document out of her purse, handing it to the armadillo. Her name tag read 'Martha.' Martha repositioned her glasses and studied the document.

"You're from the university?" she asked, referring to Zootopia University. The Department of Archeology and History's name was at the top of the page Elizabeth had handed her.

"Yes, I'm studying ancient religions,"

"You're here on 'grounds to inspect a document that has had a significant influence on this city and its history.'" Martha said, reading from the document.

"Yes."

"Considering that entails practically everything in the archive, I must ask, why does it not say what you are looking to inspect?" She said.

"Well, if word somehow got out about what I am looking for, it might ruin my chances at being the first to publish."

"Ahhh… Well, I understand... I will let you in but I will be supervising you more than usual," Martha said. She put the request document down on her desk and opened a drawer, pulling out a rubber stamp. A quick smack to the bottom of the page left the access granted stamp on the document. To the right of this Martha signed her name. Elizabeth let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. She hadn't been sure if she would be allowed in and have to resort to a more interesting way of getting past Martha.

The stout armadillo walked over to a photocopier and made a copy, then put the original in a filing cabinet and handed the copy to Elizabeth. Then she put a 'Be Right Back' sign on the desk and motioned for Elizabeth to come around to a door that said 'Original Documents Library.'

"This way," Martha said, unlocking the door with one of only two keys that hung from her hip.

Elizabeth followed her through the solid oak door and into a massive, dimly lit room that smelled strongly of old paper and wood.

In the middle of the room were four tables, each with a reading light and a green felt mat. All of them had a simple wooden chair without armrests. Starting about five feet to either side of the tables were shelves that never seemed to end. Martha led Elizabeth over to the first table, where she opened a drawer and took out a pair of white silk gloves.

"Use these to handle anything you want to look at," she said, laying the gloves on the felt mat. Elizabeth nodded. She wasn't going to need the gloves though. She had no intention of searching amongst the hundreds of shelves. She had something else she was looking for.

"Well, I need to man the desk, but I will return every half hour or so to ensure that you aren't fiddling about. Don't get too comfortable, this is no ordinary library. It commands respect," she said firmly. Elizabeth nodded.

Martha then turned around and went back through the heavy wooden door. Elizabeth waited until she heard the gentle click of the latch before she picked up her jacket and took the map of the tunnels out of its pocket. If Martha saw this, she would probably expel her from the building.

It was easy to find where she was on it. The room she was in was massive, and it contained the only entrance to the tunnel system below the library. The empty space was only a hundred or so feet away, but that was a straight line distance. It was not going to be easy to actually get to it. Without wasting any more time, Elizabeth put on her coat and began briskly walking towards the back of the large room.

In less than a minute she reached the end. Here there was a hallway that ran between the sets of shelves and the end of the wall. Set into the concrete covered brick wall was another door. This one was obviously much newer than the one that she had previously come through with Martha.

It was painted an ominous black, with the words "DO NOT ENTER" across it in yellow lettering. Underneath that it said 'Hazardous and Unstable Structure,' and It was secured by a hefty padlock. The lock must have been a few pounds of solid steel. She would be able to deal with it without a hitch.

She clasped her paws around the lock and closed her eyes, drawing in a deep breath. She focused intently and within seconds the lock was glowing red hot. She was trembling slightly from the exertion. It was getting hotter by the second, and soon enough it fully liquefied, forming a perfect sphere between her paws. She exhaled and the white-hot ball solidified instantly, even freezing the ripples on the surface of the molten metal. She dropped it to the floor with a loud thump and it slowly rolled away.

She pulled the door open and quickly walked through, closing it behind her. Now she was in a pitch black cobblestone hallway, crumbling and covered in cobwebs. The walls had oil lamps spaced out every few yards but they seemed fairly distraught. They were covered in dust and empty, the oil having evaporated long ago.

She held her paw out in front of herself and her paw pad started glowing, illuminating the hallway. She walked until she found the decrepit stairwell that she needed in order to go down three floors. What was once a small spiral staircase of thick oak planks was now a cylindrical cavern with many holes in its walls where the steps once were.

It went down over 300 feet according to legend, and she didn't want to find out if it were true. She let her glowing paw face the abyss and while she couldn't see very far, she definitely couldn't see a bottom. It was an impossible feat of engineering for the time, but given the group who made this dungeon had access to demonic powers, all bets were off as to how far down it actually went. _Time to go down three floors…_ she thought.

She held onto the cobblestone archway while she slowly lowered herself, attempting to place a hindpaw into one of the step holes. She found the hole and slid her paw into it, slowly putting some weight on it.

It held.

She now had one hindpaw in the hallway and one in the step, the only thing keeping her from falling back being her 'grip' on the smooth cobblestone wall. She lifted her hindpaw from the hallway and started lowering it to the step.

Seconds went by as she put her faith into her one hindpaw and the paw that held the wall. Her other hindpaw finally made it to the step, and now she was a bit stuck. To move to the next step she had to release her grip of the wall and somehow balance on the step below her. Due to the fact that her center of gravity was not over her feet, if she let go of the entryway, she would slowly start falling backward and nothing would stop her plummet into the darkness. She thought for a moment. _How am I supposed to stick to the wall here…_

 _Maybe if I lift my hindpaw so that my toes are pressing against the top of the stair hole it'll provide enough force to keep me pinned to the wall?_ She thought, not really ready to execute her new plan. This was not her idea of a good time. She tilted her hindpaws back, and immediately felt her body press itself lightly against the wall. She slowly let go of the wall in the archway and now she was only supported by the stair hole, the torque from her hind paws counteracting gravity's deadly grasp.

She felt her heart racing, her instincts telling her paws to search the smooth wall for a place to grip. After a few seconds of nearly frantic searching, she finally gave in to the fact that there was nothing to hold on to, and she gently rested her paws against the wall. She had to be careful about hard she touched the wall, as It wouldn't be hard to push herself to her doom. She took a deep breath and tried to take one of her paws out of the hole.

She immediately felt the pressure of her body on the wall decrease, and then disappear. One hindpaw was not enough. The feeling of falling backward overcame her and she quickly brought her other hindpaw back into the hole, pressing against its top again. Her body was about an inch away from the wall and she strained to provide enough force to hold herself upright. She pressed as hard as she could but the barely one-inch gap between her and the wall was enough to create a huge force on her feet.

She started falling back, completely hopeless at returning to a comfortable state. Her cat instincts kicked in and she spun her body, pulling her hindpaws out of the hole and preparing to land on all fours, but it was only a few seconds before she hit the water… _Hard_.

The old water was full of the wood planks that once served as steps, and it was not very cushy. Her muzzle was ok but she had taken a hard hit to her temple, and her arms and legs didn't feel much better. It only took a second or two for her to come to her senses in the frigid water, and it was immediately apparent that she had injured a hindpaw. She yelled as the pain in her paw overcame her adrenaline rush.

She was fiercely splashing, yelping and grunting in pain, trying not to move her left leg while treading water. The pain was not subsiding but she was tolerating it more and more as the seconds ticked by. Eventually, she reached a steady state with her paddling and her grunting and shouting turned into heavy breathing. Then something touched her leg.

She screamed again and kicked the hard offender away, completely at a loss as to how to get out of this horrible water. She illuminated her paws again as bright as she could, hoping to keep anything away from her by lighting the stairwell like the sun. It took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust, but once she was able to see, she looked down into the water.

A few of the sodden planks were slowly floating back up through the surprisingly clear water. She was alone in this water. While she was relieved that she wasn't dead and that she probably wasn't about to be, her paw still hurt like hell and she could now see why. One of her toes was twisted and bent completely out of shape, and the claw was nearly ripped from its bed.

She stopped looking down and looked up and around to find a way out. Luckily the water level was only a foot below the next floor, and looking up she saw that it was the floor she needed. She dimmed the lights in her paws, as it was getting tiring to keep up, and she gently paddled to the entryway.

She reached a paw up to pull herself onto the cobblestone floor. She brought her other paw up and started lifting herself. Her healthy hindpaw pushed against the wall and allowed her to drag herself onto the surprisingly cold floor. She flopped out onto the unforgiving stone and rolled onto her back. She brought her leg up to look at the injury better. Broken was an understatement, and she prayed that this would all be worthwhile.

She clasped her paws around the hind paw and cringed from the pain, trying to focus on healing it. The clicking and crunching of the bones returning to their natural position made her feel sick, but it was over quickly, and she uncovered her hind paw to see it back to normal. She touched the formerly broken toe and it felt ok, so she began to stand up. Once she was upright she was assured that it was indeed back in working order.

Now she had to find out how to get into what she was convinced was a hidden chamber. She slowly walked through the hellish halls, holding one paw to illuminate the area, the other touching the cobblestone wall as she walked. The shadows on the edge of her vision danced, putting her on edge. She didn't know what evil might be lurking here. She passed a room and could swear she saw something moving in it.

The only thing she could hear was the sound of her light steps and the sound of her paw brushing up against the wall. She continued searching for an entrance in the dark silence. Then there was a noise. She couldn't pick it out exactly but it was a thump of some kind. She stopped to listen, holding her breath. Now it sounded like distant footsteps and definitely some mammals talking.

 _Ugh, they know I'm down here…_ She thought as she realized that the sounds were likely the security coming to find her. They probably wouldn't be able to make it down to her for a while, so she still had time. She then realized that she was right next to the stairwell again. She had gone in a full circle and found nothing. _What am I supposed to do?_

She began circling it again, paying closer attention to the inner wall of the loop, with her illuminating paw facing it as she walked. She moved slightly more quickly given that they were searching for her, but she had to be thorough. She began to lose hope as she drew near to the stairwell again. She had searched the whole wall and found nothing. If what she was looking for wasn't here, it would spell the end of all hope.

 _What if there's another way to get to it?_ She thought, figuring that maybe there was a stairwell above or below. Hopefully, it wasn't below. The idea of traveling through buried, pitch black tunnels underwater was just about her worst nightmare. She decided to check the map of the second and fourth floor to be sure.

The second floor was another grid-like structure. There were a few rooms connected to hallways, but nothing particularly interesting. To her dismay, the fourth floor had a room that appeared to have a stairwell in it. It must go up, but this means she will have to swim. _Oh, I don't want to do this… but this is for everyone… It's what has to be done, for the sake of us all._

And with that thought, she walked over to the stairwell. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly to calm herself. She knelt down and started getting back into the cold water. Her head was still above the water, and she took a breath that she figured could be her last. She submerged herself completely, illuminating the hallway with her paws again, swimming directly to the room she was interested in.

She found it hard to stay away from the ceiling, her breath making her buoyant. She turned herself upside down and crawled along it. It was the most unusual feeling, walking on all fours underwater, upside down, underground, and in near total darkness. She was starting to feel the tickling of her diaphragm, her breath running out. She made it to the room she was looking for and started crawling through its archway. As she was halfway through she felt something tug on her.

She panicked, clawing at the ceiling to get away. Her breath was almost completely gone and she realized she was caught on something. She moved back a bit and found her coat caught on the oil lamp that sat at the top of the arch. She struggled to get it loose, but her frantic attempt to escape had gotten the metal folded in such a way she couldn't get it out. She was desperately in need of air, and she didn't even know if this room had what she was looking for.

She flailed to get her coat off, her body convulsing in an attempt to breathe. She got it off and had a moment of panic. Should she return to the stairwell and possibly not make it, or risk searching this room? Her body was spasming more and she started to feel the tingling of oxygen deprivation. She lit her paws with all her might and noticed the holes in the wall. She swam over to them, gulping down a mouthful of water and forcing herself not to cough and convulse.

She made it to the holes and what she had hoped for was there; a trapdoor in the ceiling. She pushed on it with her remaining strength, but it was too heavy. She was losing control of her body, unable to even get a paw in the step holes in order to press up against the door. She was hopeless, and she started blacking out. The last things she felt was the rush of water into her lungs and her limbs twitching as she tried to control them while they gave in to ischemia.

It was over, and she felt warmth and serenity. She smiled at the comfort but soon realized that she was probably no longer on Earth. She opened her eyes only to find that she was still in this horrible watery grave. She saw light creeping through the trapdoor in the ceiling, the warmth radiating from it as well. She reached up to the heavy door and effortlessly pushed it open, light flowing all around her. She reached a paw up and pulled herself onto the dirt floor. The second she was completely out of the water, the room went black and the warmth disappeared.

She collapsed to her side and vomited up water; what would have normally been a cough becoming a purge of liquid from her lungs. She continued coughing up water, shivering, and after a few seconds, she had regained control of her limbs. She pulled herself into the fetal position and continued coughing up water, still freezing cold. It was almost a full minute before she could breathe normally again. Once she was feeling slightly better she rolled onto her back and this made her cough out more water.

She lay there, on a dirt floor, in a dark room, underground, covered in a mixture of mucus and water. It felt like she had just run a marathon. It was probably the worst she had ever felt in her entire life, but she had made it. She looked around the room and while it wasn't exactly what she expected, it was the right place, she was sure. In the center of the room was a circle of large pitch black crystals, easily 15 feet tall and 4 feet wide, and in the center a perfectly clear crystal.

She didn't really feel ready, but she forced herself to stand. She stumbled as she walked, leaning up against a black crystal to regain balance, but she knew this was a mistake. Instantly it started singing her fur and melting her paw pads, the excruciating pain overtaking her. The adrenaline gave her strength to push herself away, and she stood upright for a moment. She was in too much pain to even scream, simply staring at her mangled paws.

She closed her eyes, gritting her teeth to control the pain. She wasn't strong enough to heal herself now, but salvation was a few steps away. She took a step or two and reached out blindly for the clear crystal. She felt what was left of her paw pass through something. It felt like a curtain of novocaine, numbing her paw instantly. She put her other paw through and opened her eyes. Her paws were inside of the crystal, perfectly healthy.

She stepped into it completely, and slowly drifted towards its center. She felt nothing. Her mind began to clear and soon enough she wasn't even aware that she was conscious. She was fully inside of the crystal, floating peacefully. Minutes passed and, eventually, she came to, looking out from within the crystal. She saw the evil that the other crystals represented, and she knew what had to be done.

One by one she focused on the other crystals and they began glowing red hot, her own crystal glowing a light blue. The other crystals started cracking and breaking into pieces, turned to dust within seconds. She felt vindicated, but she knew there was still work to be done. She slowly drifted to the border of the crystal and stepped back into the cold dark room. It was a shock, leaving the comfort and safety of the crystal, but she couldn't sit there forever.

She walked across the black sand, the remains of the evil crystals. It was still warm. Those crystals had been there for hundreds of years to oppress the positive energy. Now the crystal was free, ready to be a conduit of spiritual energy, and she had become its ambassador. With its power, she would be able to put a stop to The Order, but she couldn't do it alone, and she couldn't be caught either. She was still a mortal.

She looked around the room for a moment before closing her eyes. She thought about the bathroom in the Turquoise Palm, and when she opened her eyes, she was there. She opened the door and stepped out into the bar. She quickly went down the stairs to the cellar and knocked seven times on the door to the only room in the basement. A wolf opened the door and invited her in. She thanked him and joined the congregation.

"Welcome sister Abigail, you're just in time," the priest said. She was in time indeed, but in a way not her nor anyone else in the room was expecting. There was a ruckus upstairs and the priest stopped, some talking coming from behind the door. Barely a moment passed before the door shattered into pieces as a cape buffalo in full riot gear plowed through it.

…

The patriarch had just killed the rabbit and felt the thunder shake the ground. The blood rain ritual had worked, which was no surprise given how much power the demon had gotten from the killings. Now it was time to summon Him. Lewis opened his grimoire and began speaking.

"O magne potens chaos hoc signum revertantur.

Dat sanguis vobis in caelum, uelut fidens sanctitati hoc permittens transire ad limina.

surge et vastitatem clamito et haereticos computandi."

And with that, the floor beneath the cross began to crack. It sunk into a pit and from the hole rose hellfire. Then He came out of it on a pillar of basalt, and the patriarch immediately went to his knees, bowing. The demon never liked how formal his disciples had gotten, it even freaked _him_ out.

"Alright, get off of the floor, you'll get your robes dirty," he said.

"Of course your majesty," Lewis said as he stood. The demon looked around for a moment.

"This is it? This is all you guys have?"

"Does it not please you?" Lewis said, worried.

"No, it makes no difference to me, I just figured you would have something better than a dingy basement… anyways, that is not the matter at hand here is it?" He said, hoping to get Lewis excited.

"No, we're here to start anew," Lewis said.

"We are indeed…" He said, trailing off as he felt something rather disturbing happen. He looked around. "What was that?"

"What was what?"

"I felt something… where's the nearest window?" The scaly beast said.

"I'll take you to one," Lewis said. They left the ritual room and all of the mammals around him bowed as he walked with Lewis. They went up the stairs and looked out one of the large windows. It was raining, but it wasn't blood. One of the followers came up to the two, kneeling and scratching her fur all over.

"Permission to... speak?" The wolverine said, itching all to hell. She was soaking wet. Lewis looked at the demon, waiting on his word. He looked back at Lewis, confounded by these mortal's strange traditions.

"Of course... my child."

"It was just raining blood but... gah.. it suddenly stopped, and now it's raining this... horrible liquid… urgh… it's so itchy," she said. The demon knew that this was no coincidence. He took her by the paws and she stood up. Then she burst into flame… it was only for a moment, but all of her clothing and fur was gone, leaving her skin unscathed.

"That better?" The demon asked. She stifled a scream and lied, removing her paws from his hands to cover herself.

"Yes, the itching is gone, thank you," she said, trying her hardest not to let him see her discontent. He smiled and waved her off.

"Gee she really didn't like that did she?" He said with a chuckle. Patriarch Lewis tried to cover for her.

"Oh, sister Madeline is a very careful follower of yours, she would never disapprove of your actions," he said, garnering an eye roll.

"I'm sure… anyways, this rain didn't just go away on its own and somehow get replaced with what appears to be purifying water… have you been guarding the crystals?" He asked. Lewis was dumbfounded, he had no idea what was meant by the crystals. The knowledge of them had been lost when Lewis killed Haines. They were the reason zootopia was built where it was.

"Oh dear... This may put a damper on our plans..."

...

 **A/N: Hey everyone, hope you enjoyed this chapter! It's a bit of a Frankenstein since Erwin wrote the first part leading up to the door into the tunnels, and I wrote the rest, but I think it turned out just fine. What do you all think of the crystals? Too over the top? I feel like this whole story is kind of about the hidden magic that exists in the world, and the very dark side of it, so it's not too out of place.**

 **Also, was the wolverine part funny? I cracked myself up at "Yes, the itching is gone, thank you."**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: This is it! The last chapter. I feel like this story shouldn't have been so short, but at the same time, it really didn't need to be longer. Sure it could have covered more of the backstory or had more go on modern day, but I think these 26 or so thousand words are pretty much what Erwin and I wanted from the start. A big thank you to him again for helping make this story what it is.**

 **Please review and let me know how I did with the end here. I know this story was more horror than anything, but I feel like it didn't need to a heart-wrenching ending as is typical in horror. Maybe its more of a thriller than horror? I was considering a different ending where many of the characters are left dead, and the surviving character is left with the fact that they were no better than the demon at the end of the day, but I figured there's no purpose. The same idea can be conveyed without that, and I hate sad endings.**

 **I do have another alternate ending which I may post as an epilogue though, as it seemed quite a fascinating idea, but it ended up being too bulky to actually write, and the same epilogue may also have some stuff covering the aftermath. Also, look for my new story in the 'Enigma Project' series, the sequel to 'The Culprit From Hell' called 'A Case of a Curse,' my plan with it is to be comedy through and through, with a supernatural premise of course.**

 **Sorry for the long note! Anyways, enjoy!**

...

Nick and Judy had given up trying to figure out what was going on with this caracal. After using their first names out of nowhere, talking like she was from formal high society, and escaping from the interrogation room, she had them completely stumped.

"Well, I should probably start by saying that my name is not 'Abby'... my name is Elizabeth Felis. Now, I would like to keep talking but I have to deal with… that," she said, pointing to the insanity outside. The three simply stared at her, and she took that as permission to do her duties. She walked over to the doors and the towering crowd of mammals cleared to let the small cat through.

She pushed a door open, and as she stepped out the blood rain flowed around her in the air. Even the ground where she walked was being cleared of the horrible liquid. She walked about twenty feet from the doors before she stopped and looked down at the ground, trying to focus. She stood there for a moment, a still figure in the constantly moving rain. She then lifted her head slightly, her eyes still closed, and brought her paws up in front of her.

The bubble of clear air around her started growing, and after just a few seconds it was three times the size. She started to lift off of the ground, and a burst of energy emanated from her, clearing the air of the rain. Soon enough it had found the clouds, turning them white again. The circle of white in the sky grew until all of the darkness was gone. She remained levitating, just floating there, bathed in the light. Then it started raining pure, clean water.

As it fell, it cleansed the city of the blood, dissolving it as it mixed. A few of the bloodied mammals from the precinct walked outside, watching the stains disappear as the rain fell on them. Elizabeth slowly returned to the ground and smiled at the mammals who were enjoying the return to normality, their crimson dye being bleached away. She walked back into the precinct and went up to Nick, Judy, and Bogo.

"So that's cleared up, but we're not done, we have to find The Order and stop them from completing the ritual," she said, to no effect. The three stared at her completely dumbstruck. She understood that this was probably a shock but she needed them to get to work, so she started snapping.

"Come on here, look alive!" She said. Bogo fainted, and the thunderous noise of his body hitting the floor finally shook Nick and Judy out of it.

"Are you an angel?" Judy asked. Elizabeth was a little taken aback by what seemed to her like an odd question.

"No, I'm just a mammal like you. I've been hunting this cult for many years, and I've acquired a few... abilities along the way. Just an hour or so ago I found a powerful conduit of energy, one that can lend me enough strength to overpower Him. We must stop them before it's too late," she said with urgency. Judy looked over to Nick and he was shocked as well.

"Well, what… what do we do?" Judy asked her, looking for guidance.

"We need to find where they're hiding," Elizabeth said, confusing Nick.

"Wait, didn't we just raid their hideout?" He asked.

"Yes, but there's another location, where their higher level leaders are. I don't know where exactly but I know it's close to Sahara Square. It's still in Savannah Central, and it's a church, or a chapel, or something," she replied. The two figured that, as confused as they were, now was the time for action, not contemplation. Judy took out her phone and searched for churches in southern Savanna Central.

"Do any of these ring a bell?" She asked as she gave the phone to Elizabeth.

"Now that I look, I think I know where it is… but that can't be right… no, it has to be this other one…" she said, confused.

"Which ones?"

"It's either this smaller church, the 'First Presbyterian Church' or… its Saint Wolfherd's cathedral…" She said, not very confident about her second choice. It didn't take Judy long to convince herself it was the former, and Nick couldn't help but agree. There was no way this obscure cult had worked their way into the largest and oldest church in the city.

"We gotta get to this church… let's go," Judy said, beginning to head to the garage. Nick watched her walk away and then turned to Elizabeth.

"I guess that means it's time to go," he said. Elizabeth nodded and began following. Their paws and claws clicked and padded along the floor as they walked through the empty hallway. Judy opened the door to the garage and they stepped through, Elizabeth trailing as they lead the way. They raced through the parking garage and found their cruiser, Flinging their doors open. Judy hopped onto her seat while Nick let Elizabeth get onto the seat in between them.

They were all in and Judy put the car in reverse and stepped on it, flying out of the spot. The tires screeched as she turned, the car drifting, and once she was pointed in the right direction she sped out of the garage, drifting out onto the street with another screech. The sirens were on but Judy was going too fast to give anyone time to pull over, so Judy weaved through the traffic.

"Jesus carrots, don't get us killed!" Nick yelled, trying to hold on to anything he could. Elizabeth had grabbed onto him for lack of any other support.

"Well we gotta hurry don't we!?" Judy shouted back. The sky was turning dark again, not as dark as before, but it was clear that it wasn't over. The sound of thunder filled the air as faint orange flashes came through the clouds. Judy continued swerving around cars, and the speedometer was maxed out.

"Can you tell us more about what we're dealing with here?" Nick yelled, figuring that they didn't have much else to do aside from holding on for dear life. She struggled to respond given Judy's insane driving.

"The cult, the Order... they use rituals and sacrifices to appease him, and in turn... he gives them supernatural assistance with their… carnivorous activities. They are very hard to track, but… at the end of the day, they're still mammals. You guys can handle the members while I deal with him," Elizabeth said, straining with the movements of the car.

"Who is 'he'? Some sort of demon?"

"Well, I don't want to alarm you two, but to my knowledge… it seems like he is _the_ demon, some sort of ancient evil," she said, panting. _I gotta deal with Satan himself? Man, I didn't sign up for this shit…_ Nick thought. Judy was about to clarify that she had heard correctly when an enormous roar filled the air. Suddenly the car lifted off of the road and crashed back down.

Nick slammed his snout into the dashboard, the airbag only having deployed on Judy's side. Judy nearly broke the brake pedal as she slammed it down, and the car began hopping up and down on the road, being tossed like a toy. Elizabeth watched as Nick tried to stop his blood from getting everywhere, the car violently shaking. Each collision with the ground slowed them more and they eventually reached a stop, a horizontal stop at least. Judy held on to the steering wheel as the car rocked side to side, up and down. It was a massive earthquake.

Pieces of the buildings around them fell to the street, stone and glass raining from the sky. The earth in front of them split open, and a car began falling into the pit. The other side of the road started lifting, and was more than ten feet higher when the gap closed violently as their side slammed into the wall of rock. The falling car was absolutely flattened, along with whoever was in it. The buildings along the line where the earth split crumbled to the ground.

Judy turned to look behind them as the skyscrapers downtown swayed. Two of the largest buildings brushed against each other, sending debris flying. A smaller skyscraper began to collapse completely, leaving a column of dust in the air. She was too distracted by the buildings to see that Nick's nose was bleeding profusely.

Nick tried to contain it rather unsuccessfully, and Elizabeth pulled his paws away, wrapping hers around his snout. She closed her eyes and Nick felt the cartilage shifting around inside his nose. It was incredibly uncomfortable, like having an insect inside his nose, but at least it didn't hurt. Elizabeth tried to concentrate and keep her grip while the car rocked.

After just a few seconds the shaking started to die down and they were left in their battered cruiser, a wall of rock in front of them, debris and wrecked cars all around. Elizabeth took her paws off of Nick's snout and he sat there with a very odd expression on his face. He looked like he was about to have a seizure. _Oh no... I didn't think he hit it that hard..._ Elizabeth worried.

Then he sneezed.

"Gah! Oh!… Wow that felt weird!" He said. Judy looked over, and the sight of Nick covered in blood startled her.

"Jesus, what happened?"

"Hit my snout, she fixed it," he replied simply. Judy just shook her head in confusion, not even bothering to clarify how Elizabeth 'fixed it.' She took out her phone to check where they were but, unsurprisingly, there was no signal. She tried to put the car in reverse but when she hit the gas the engine just revved. She sighed.

"We better be close, cause it looks like we're gonna be on foot," she said. The two nodded and they all got out of the car, looking around at the devastation. It was horrible: cars flipped, fires, glass and stone everywhere. And the bodies... the blood… the limbs of evidently dead mammals sticking out from crushed cars and ruble, dead bodies sprawled out on the sidewalks; victims of falling stone and glass, blood running out of mangled cars. Nick and Judy felt a need to help anyone who was injured or trapped, but they knew they had to escort Elizabeth. As horrific as this was, it seemed like it was just the beginning, and they did not want to know what came after.

The three climbed the rock wall and reached the top, standing on the bifurcated street, nearly fifteen feet above the other half. They jogged to the nearest street sign, which had been partially crushed, and struggled to get a look at where they were. After a brushing the dust off they determined that they were in luck, and it would only be a few more blocks to the church. They began running through the street, sliding over the hoods of cars, trying not to injure themselves on the absolute mess of rubble that was on the ground.

They could see the church ahead, still standing, and put the rest of their energy into reaching it. When they got to the doors the officers plowed through them without hesitation, drawing their tranq guns. They immediately started yelling frantically into the congregation. The sight of the fox officer covered in blood shocked most of the mammals to the point of unresponsiveness. Elizabeth cautiously stepped in behind them, and she could immediately tell something was off.

"Everybody get on the ground! NOW!" Judy yelled, furious. Some of the mammals began to get off of the pews but most were too horrified, and the priest simply stared at them. Suddenly Judy felt a paw on her shoulder and turned to face Elizabeth.

"This isn't the right place," she said. Judy felt the anger drain from her as it was replaced with concern. Nick looked over, not having heard what Elizabeth had said.

"What?" Judy asked with a hint of sorrow, Nick awaiting the clarification as well.

"I can't feel anything wrong here, and besides… there are prey mammals in the congregation Judy," she said. Judy lowered her tranq and Nick did the same. _Ugh, that was so stupid… these poor mammals,_ Judy thought. She looked at the crowd of terrified mammals and apologized.

"We're so sorry… please, keep praying… it's needed now more than ever," she said. She didn't know if praying would do any good, but she had faith. They all turned and walked slowly through the door, Nick turning back briefly to apologize quietly.

"Ugh, so stupid, those power mammals. Elizabeth, are you sure they're in this area? The only other option is Wolfherd's Cathedral..." Judy asked.

"Well, there are rumors that they had to do with the founding of zootopia... its possible they have a hideout in the cathedral," She responded. The sky had gotten darker since their entry into the church, and orange lighting bolted across the clouds. _That is not a normal lightning color…_ Judy thought.

"We have to get there, fast," she said, thunder shaking her body.

"Well, we're all pretty quick on all fours aren't we?" Nick said, dropping to his natural stance. _It's the best we got right now…_ Judy figured, doing the same. Elizabeth brought her paws to the ground and after a quick nod they all started sprinting.

Judy hopped along, jumping a few of her body lengths every leap, springing off of rubble and cars. Nick was having a hard time getting past some obstacles but his size made him faster than Judy on flat ground, meaning they stayed rather close together. Elizabeth, however, was faster and more agile than both of them, racing ahead. She stopped when she realized how far ahead she was.

"Keep going!" Judy yelled, panting. She hesitated for a moment but continued running. Judy and Nick couldn't see her anymore and they were getting concerned. The thunder and lightning was getting more intense, a reminder that their time was limited.

"Nick, we should try to find someone who can carry us," Judy said as she jumped over obstacles. Nick agreed, and as they moved they scanned the area for able mammals who could help them. Only seconds later, the perfect pair stepped out of a broken down car. It was a Thomson's gazelle and a cheetah, and they looked young, fit, and uninjured. The officers quickly sped over to them, garnering strange looks given the fact that they were on all fours.

"Woah, are you two ok?" The cheetah asked, staring at Nick's blood covered paws and shirt.

"Yeah, we're ok, but we need your help. We need to get to St. Wolfherds cathedral ASAP, could you two carry us?" Judy asked. The cheetah gave them an odd look and turned to his friend. They nodded at eachother and didn't bother asking why, given the circumstances.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," The gazelle said as he dropped to all fours along with his friend.

"Great, thank you!" Judy said as she got on top of the gazelle, Nick climbing onto the larger cheetah. They immediately took off and were easily going three times as fast as the two could. They weren't even breathing very heavily, and Nick could tell they weren't ordinary mammals.

"So, you two must do this a lot?" He shouted over the thunder and wind.

"Well… That's a funny way to put it, but yeah… we're both track athletes," the cheetah said, continuing to sprint, leaping onto cars. Judy's gazelle was also showing off his leaping skills, jumping over entire cars with ease. _The prayers worked, this is a miracle,_ Judy thought. They were slowly catching up with Elizabeth, and they could see her in the distance, along with the cathedral.

The cathedral was definitely the right place. It was in pristine condition compared to the rest of the earthquake-ravaged city. The clouds swirled above its peak, and bolts of lightning made continuous contact with its highest point. It was an ominous sight to behold but they weren't deterred, they had a job to do. Lightning began striking all over the city, and they could only imagine what was coming with it.

Elizabeth was leaping onto cars, sliding across the hoods and roofs. Under the roar of thunder she heard the clicking and padding of two mammals behind her, and paused on top of a car to see Nick and Judy riding a gazelle and a cheetah. She smiled at the sheer badassery she was witnessing just before lightning struck right next to the four. The cheetah kept moving for a moment before realizing the gazelle has crashed.

Elizabeth began sprinting back just as Judy was standing up. Nick knelt next to the gazelle, pressing down on his leg. Judy walked back and took over applying pressure for a moment while Nick took off his belt.

"What's wrong?" Elizabeth said as she skidded to a stop.

"He's got some shrapnel in his leg," Judy responded, continuing to press down. Nick had his belt off and wrapped it around the young male's leg, tightening it like a tourniquet. Judy took her paws off to get a better look now that the blood flow was reduced, and jumped back when she saw something squirming in the wound. The gazelle propped himself up on his elbows in response to Judy and started screaming at the sight.

Nick was beside himself with terror and Elizabeth wasn't faring much better. The cheetah was shocked for a moment but immediately reached down to grab the evil thing, the love for his friend beating out his fear. His claws grasped the creature and out came a horrible insect-like beast, its many legs replaced with smooth tentacles. He held it, in shock, unsure what to do. Almost immediately he started yelling as its legs started to burrow into his paw.

Elizabeth snapped out of her shock and grabbed his paw, feeling the scorching heat of the hellspawn burn her pure paws. The cheetah, luckily, didn't have to feel this, but what he was going through wasn't much better. Elizabeth focused on the creature and her paws started glowing a bright blue. She felt the evil melt away, black smoke escaping between her fingers.

The two officers were still not used to Elizabeth doing this sort of thing, and they looked on, amazed. The cheetah and gazelle had their jaws agape, absolutely astonished. Elizabeth released her grip and gave a small sigh of relief. The cheetah looked at his pristine paw, free of injury and demons.

"Holy shit!" He said.

"Heh, your welcome," Elizabeth replied.

"Me next!" The gazelle said, straining in pain, but giving a slight chuckle. Elizabeth gasped, kicking herself for being so slow, and placed her paws over his wound. It was only a few seconds before his leg was back to normal, and Elizabeth lifted her paws again.

"Well, at least that's over... what the hell is going on?" The gazelle asked. Elizabeth wasn't sure how to respond, not wanting to waste any time.

"Uhhh… world's ending, I can stop it, but I must get to the cathedral," she said. The two simply stared at her, and she couldn't wait any longer. She turned to run to the cathedral and the officers followed, leaving the cheetah and gazelle in the middle of the road, confused. It wasn't long before the three were in front of the massive stone structure. They all looked at each other as they stood before the doors, the thunder roaring around them.

"Looks like this is it," Judy said.

"I'm ready as I'll ever be," Nick said.

"let's go," Elizabeth said. Nick and Judy pushed open the doors and pulled their tranq guns to find a small group of predators and a large, red, scaly beast. The demon looked at the three, confused for a moment, but then he felt Elizabeth's presence.

"Oh I see, the puny police patrol and their channeler friend have come to slay the beast! Oh, woe is me, whatever shall I do… Ah yes, I know, KILL THEM!" He roared, fire coming out of his mouth with the last words. The group of predators started advancing toward them, and with the first two shots Nick and Judy took down a lion and bear. They didn't have time to reload as the rest of the predators advanced, one of which, a cheetah, was going straight for Elizabeth.

He pounced onto Elizabeth and was inches away from biting her head off when Judy landed a flying kick right to his head. He immediately rolled off of Elizabeth, disoriented. Judy then focused on the other mammals while Nick hit the cheetah on the back of the head with his flashlight, assuring he wouldn't get back up.

Nick turned around just in time to stop one of the wolves from hitting Judy with a candlestick while she choked another wolf. He sprinted towards the wolf and leaped up to bash him with the flashlight. The metal cylinder struck with authority and the wolf was knocked out, Judy's wolf falling unconscious as well.

Nick was then pounced by a naked and hairless wolverine, and the strange feeling of skin made him think it was the demon. His fear-induced adrenaline rush allowed him to throw the wolverine off his back. When he saw what had attacked him he was incredibly confused, and didn't notice that Lewis had Judy in his grasp.

"Kill the cat!" Lewis said to his last two available followers. The hyena and coyote immediately went after Elizabeth, and she began backing out of the front doors. She was walking backward through the cathedrals granite forecourt when the hyena grabbed her by the throat. She was panicking, unable to focus to channel energy, and it left her defenseless against the two. The hyena slammed her into the solid door of the cathedral.

"Looks like your little show is over kitty cat!" The hyena cackled.

"It's too bad we were ordered to kill you, we could have had so much fun," The coyote said. The coyote then had his head smashed into the door by a flying cheetah's foot

The hyena looked over in shock and screamed immediately after, throwing her head to the sky, her body shuddering. She looked down to see two horns sticking out of her abdomen, almost touching Elizabeth. She dropped Elizabeth and fell forward, sliding off of the gazelle's horns.

"Just in time huh?" The gazelle that had carried Judy said, blood covering his horns. Elizabeth simply responded with a whimper, not really the biggest fan of violence herself. She looked over at the coyote, whose head was a slightly different shape than before, the cheetah standing above him.

"I think we better get in there and get to work," the cheetah said, limping slightly as he walked into the cathedral. The gazelle helped Elizabeth up and they ran into the cathedral.

Judy was in Lewis' grasp when she saw Nick get slashed by the wolverine's sharp claws. Lewis was busy saying something to taunt her, and she took the opportunity to grab his jaw. She tried to hyperextend his jaw but it just kept opening. _Oh, you fuckin weirdo!_ She thought, her trick being quashed by the Tasmanian tiger's strange jaw.

He started closing his jaw, so Judy tried the other direction. She could feel the crunching of cartilage and bone as she forced his upper and lower jaws away from each other perpendicular to their normal range of motion. He immediately dropped her and curled up on the floor, holding his head. She bolted over to Nick, giving the naked wolverine one of her famously powerful flying kicks.

"Nick!" She said as she hit the ground just after the wolverine.

"I'm alright, just a little scratch," Nick said as he uncovered the gashes on his arm. Elizabeth ran in with the gazelle and cheetah while Judy helped Nick up, and they regrouped in the middle of the room. Strangely enough, the demon was sitting in a pew, simply watching.

"Wow, you all have caused more injury and death to other mammals than any of those mammals! Well, except Lewis, he's quite a specimen… Oh poor Lewis, look at the number you did on his jaw, Judy! Well done! You know, it's funny, you all just contributed more to my strength- AHHHH!" he said, being cut off by beams of light erupting from Elizabeth's eyes. He shielded himself and his scaly skin started to smoke and burn in the light.

The four around Elizabeth shielded their eyes as her entire body began glowing. She opened her mouth and what seemed like a solid piece of light slithered out, her body dropping to the floor, motionless. The others couldn't see, due to the blinding light, and at Judy's command, they ducked under the pews.

The demon was roaring and screaming, flames pouring out of him, and the light approached. He backed away from the encroaching light, his flesh baking and peeling away. He collapsed onto the steps in front of the podium and the light spread out into a web, entrapping him. Nick peeked out over the pew to see the demon squeezed out of existence by the light.

The room was pitch black, and after a few moments waiting in silence the other three crawled out from under the pews while Nick took out his flashlight. They immediately grouped up around Elizabeth while Judy checked her vitals. Seconds went by as Judy felt for her pulse, and she shook her head, saying 'no' quietly under her breath. Nick could feel tears welling up in his eyes as Judy placed her ear over Elizabeth. She said something else that they couldn't quite hear and lifted her head off of her.

"I think she's alive, she's on the edge, but she's alive… Come on gets get her out of this place," she said. The cheetah scooped her up and carried her out onto the granite plaza in front of the cathedral. He set her down on her side and was immediately embraced by his gazelle friend.

"Holy shit, we did it," the gazelle said. They both laughed, Nick and Judy also embracing. The males split apart and sat down, Nick and Judy sharing a longer hug than the two.

"What a day," Judy said.

"Yeah, jeez… talk about wanting to go home," Nick replied. They shared a short laugh and separated. The cheetah was lying on his back and looked over, smiling.

"So, is this just another day in the life for you two? Cause if so, I think I'm gonna have to change careers" he said, laughing.

"Well, when we're not doing paperwork, parking duty, and patrol, we feel like we're saving the world, but this? This is a whole other level," Judy replied, also laughing. They all shared an excited, relieved laugh, and Elizabeth woke up in the middle of it. She lifted her head up and put a paw on her head, grunting.

"I don't think I need to ask, but it went well right?" She said, grimacing. Judy and Nick immediately crouched down next to her, concerned.

"Yeah, everything's fine, what's going on with you, do you feel ok?" Judy asked.

"Ugh, it's my head… I'm not really surpri-" She started, being cut off by a violent wretch. Nick and Judy gave her some room and she coughed and gagged, vomiting out a glowing blue liquid all over. She was about to collapse into it face first but Judy saved her and put her on her side, facing the other direction.

"What the hell are we supposed to do? Take her to a hospital?" Judy asked rhetorically.

"Yeah, I don't think they know how to treat whatever this is… or if there are any still standing…" He said, being reminded of the ruin the city was in. Elizabeth started waking up again only seconds later. _Oh here we go again,_ Nick thought.

"Ugh, what happened… oh ew, ugh! What am I covered in? Where am I? Am I dead?" She said, tired sounding but quite cognizant.

"You're ok, you're outside of St. Wolfherds Cathedral. Do you know your name?" Nick asked.

"Oh Christ, what happened to you!" She said, staring at his blood stains.

"I hit my snout, I'm fine, don't worry about it, we gotta make sure you're ok. Do you know your name?"

"Yes, I'm Elizabeth Felis… What happened? Am I under arrest?"

"No, definitely not. You pretty much just saved the world. What's the last thing you can remember?" Judy said.

"I saved the world? OH! Oh, I think… I think I can connect the dots. Last thing I remember I was drowning in the tunnels under the library. I think I somehow got to the conduit, then to the police station, and we made it to The Order's main hideout, then sent the demon back to hell, right?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Judy said, not sure about anything before the police station but figuring it was right.

"Oh, thank god…" She said, lying down. "Now, what am I covered in?"

"You just vomited it up, God only knows what it is," Nick said, garnering a glare from Judy.

"That's nice… Why is the city in ruin?"

"Huge earthquake. That's when I hit my snout, you healed it," Nick said.

"Oh, good… the snout thing, not the earthquake, that's bad," she said. there was a pause in the conversation, and they all remained silent, exhausted. Nick and Judy sat down on the stone and waited for Elizabeth to feel ready to walk. As they sat, a thought kept building in Judy's head, until she could not keep it inside anymore.

"You know, what the demon said, about us causing more pain than him or anyone else... He was kinda right wasn't he? I mean, we beat and killed all of those mammals, you saw what I did to that thing's jaw," She said.

"Come on fluff, he's the great deceiver, the root of all evil, you can't listen to him," Nick reminded her. She nodded, but the thought wasn't gone from her head.

"She's not completely wrong," Elizabeth said. Nick's looked over and his ears perked up, Judy looking at Elizabeth too.

"He, the demon... He's not evil. He gives people choices. Sure he influences and deceives, but that isn't evil. It's the choice to give in to him that's truly evil. Evil isn't some monster, or individual, or cult. Evil consists of the choices made by those too weak to sacrifice and too stubborn to change... who would rather cause suffering than experience it. That's what started this... Someone was hungry and wanted to eat meat because it would be easier for them, and the demon gave them a choice... and that was all it took."


End file.
